Take Two
by MoSBanapple
Summary: Any place in the world has its fair share of thieves and lowlifes, and why would the Earth Kingdom be any different? Rin is one of the many bandits littered throughout the continent, doing whatever she can to survive as she wanders aimlessly from place to place. Normally, the story of such a person wouldn't be worth telling... but everything changes when she meets the Gaang.
1. The Great Divide

**A/N: Welcome to the story! Let's get started.**

**This story contains swearing along the lines of shit, hell, and fuck, though will usually just be something like "What the fuck" or something like that.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Great Divide<strong>

_It shouldn't be this hot during the winter._

Rin hiked down the forest path, her old, weather-worn boots kicking up dust behind her with each step. She stopped to wipe her brow, then looked up towards the blazing sun overhead. It was unusually hot in comparison to the past few days, but it wasn't unbearable. She flipped the hood of her cloak over her head, shielding herself from the sun, and continued walking, soon reaching a fork in the road.

"Well, this complicates things," Rin muttered, squatting down to the ground. She had been tracking the Gan Jin tribe for a few days, following them wherever they went. From what she had picked up, the tribe had been forced out of their homes by the Fire Nation, and were looking for a place to stay - not that Rin really cared. What mattered was that the tribes people were practically nobles: they wore elegant robes, carried expensive porcelain dishware, and had glittering gold jewelry. Despite their status as refugees, they were rich, and Rin wanted a bit of their wealth.

She stood up, following a trail of dusty footprints down the right side of the fork. Soon, she could hear voices in the distance, an indicator that she was getting closer to the tribe. There was a clearing in the distance, opening up to a large canyon. Rin ducked into the forest so that she could get closer without being noticed, creeping through the bushes as she went.

"... rather be taken by the Fire Nation then travel with those stinking thieves!" Rin heard someone shout. Peering from behind a tree, she saw the Gan Jins arguing with another, vastly different tribe. They were like polar opposites; instead of fine robes, jewelry, and neatness, they wore hides and animal bones, and every spot of their skin was covered in dirt.

The two tribes descended into a shouting match before, suddenly, a strong gust of air blew through the area and broke the fight. As the shouting stop, a bald, oddly dressed boy forced himself between the two tribes. He had a blue arrow tattooed to his head, along with bright clothes and a wooden staff. Behind him were two teenagers, a boy and a girl, with tanned skin and blue clothes who looked similar enough for Rin to guess that they were siblings. She assumed that they were from a Water Tribe, but she couldn't identify where the bald boy was from. His skin was too light to be Water Tribe or Earth Kingdom, but by the way he was interacting with the refugees and the Water Tribe teenagers behind him, it didn't seem like he was Fire Nation.

"All right, listen up!" the boy shouted. "You're all going down together, and Appa here will take the sick and elderly across the canyon." He pointed to a giant white bison sitting near the cliff, which Rin had somehow never noticed until now. The sick and elderly from each tribe climbed onto the bison and, with a roar, the creature took off into the air, much to Rin's surprise. As it flew across the canyon, an old, fairly chubby man with a large mustache pushed his way in front of everyone.

"Here's the bad news!" he shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. "No food in the canyon. It attracts dangerous predators."

_If they're that dangerous, I'm pretty sure they'll think of us as food_, Rin thought, not making a move to get rid of the meager amount of food she had, but the two tribes obeyed the man, taking all of their food and trying to eat it as fast as they could. As Rin watched, she noticed that the way the tribes ate were different: while the Gan Jins ate in small bites and used chopsticks, the other tribe scarfed down their food with their bare hands.

Once they finished, the mustached man led the two tribes, along with the three teenagers, down a path leading to the bottom of the canyon. Once the last person disappeared from Rin's view, she came out from behind the tree, walking out into the clearing. She followed the tribes down the trail, which lead to a winding path down the cliff wall. As she peered over the edge of the path, she saw the two tribes marching down the path - however, they were dwarfed by the height of the cliff below her. It was enough to give Rin a sense of vertigo, making her back away to the middle of the path before she got dizzy.

_Why did I make myself do this?_ Rin thought. _I could have robbed them yesterday night, or the night before. Instead, I have to follow them down this canyon, where it's hot and full of predators._ As she continued down the path, she remembered back to when she had first found out that such a rich tribe was traveling through the area.

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><p><strong>Four Days Before<strong>

_Ding ding._

Rin opened the door to the tavern, jingling a metal bell tied to the handle. The place wasn't exactly bustling; apart from a few travelers seated at the counter and a drunkard slumbering in the corner, it was empty. She took a seat at the counter, away from the other travelers. Upon noticing a new customer, the tavern owner, a middle aged, black haired woman, walked over to her.

"What'll you be having?" the lady asked as Rin looked up, her hood still covering her head.

"Best meal I can get with ten coppers," Rin muttered, taking the money from her pocket and placing it onto the table. The lady nodded, taking the coins and heading to the back of the tavern. As she waited for her food, she looked around. The tavern was quiet, though she didn't expect anything else when there was less than half a dozen people sitting at the counter.

_Ding ding. Ding ding. Ding ding._

The bell on the door jingled again, this time ringing for a few seconds before stopping. Turning around, Rin saw a large group of people entering the tavern. They looked and acted like nobles, wearing clean robes and walking slowly to the counter. Rin's eyes instantly focused on their gold jewelry, hanging from their clothes and bags.

_What's a group like that doing in a tavern like this?_ Rin's question was soon answered when the old, white haired leader of the group came up to the counter, just as the lady came out from the back of the tavern, holding a small loaf of bread and a bowl of soup.

"We require food for the next week," the old man said. "How much will that cost?"

"Well," the lady mumbled, before looking up at the old man. "How much do you need?"

"We have about fifteen people. A large sack of potatoes and a large sack of bread should be fine," the old man replied.

"You'll have to understand, I'm not a farmer nor a baker. This'll cost you quite a bit of money," the lady explained.

"It's fine," said the old man. The lady sighed, before walking over to Rin and dropping off the bread and soup, along with a small wooden spoon. The bread, while plain, wasn't stale, and the soup was a thick potato stew, still warm from the pot. Rin ripped small chunks from her loaf of bread, dipping them into the stew before consuming them. After finishing the bread, she started on the potato stew, being careful not to spill any of the rich soup from her spoon. As she finished the stew, the lady came out from the back of the tavern once again, this time carrying two large burlap sacks. She placed them on the counter, where the old man was waiting.

"Here's your bread and potatoes. That'll be ten gold pieces," the lady said. The old man took a small, decorated purse from his robes and counted out ten gold coins before handing them to the lady and taking the food.

"Where's someone like you headed?" a guy next to the old man asked, glancing up from his seat at the counter.

"We're fleeing from the Fire Nation," the old man replied.

"Aren't we all. Where too?"

"Ba Sing Se. Hopefully, there'll be a place for us in the Upper Ring."

After the conversation finished, the old man joined up with his finely dressed companions, who were waiting at a table in the back. They discussed something that Rin couldn't hear before they stood up and made their way to the door, leaving the tavern to its quietness. Rin leaned on the counter, still looking at the door where the group had left.

"Finished?" the lady behind the counter asked. Rin nodded her head, allowing the lady to take her bowl and spoon. Rin didn't pay her much attention, instead focusing on the thoughts in her own head.

_They've got jewelry, good clothes, and money. Probably nobles. Definitely rich,_ Rin assumed. Since they were running from the Fire Nation, they would probably be weary and exhausted from traveling. They were the perfect targets, if she could somehow lift their valuables from them. _Well, I know who I'm following for the next few days._

Rin got up from her seat and exited the tavern, ending up back on the street. In the distance, she could see the group of people walking down the road, heading north. Rin followed them, thinking of ways she could procure some of their wealth for herself. _Maybe I could sneak into their camp during the night. Or I could catch a straggler and jump him. I'll think of something..._

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><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

After a few days of following the tribe, she had learned their tribe name, their schedules, and their habits. However, she never took action, waiting for the right time to strike. Now that she thought about it, the canyon was a better place than she had expected: the Gan Jins would be tired from hiking in the sun, and there would be many places to hide among the rock formations on the canyon floor. All she needed to do was wait until night fell then go in and rob them blind.

_CRASH!_

Suddenly, Rin was jerked out of her thoughts as a large boulder came up from below, crashing into the underside of the path. As the ground collapsed underneath her, she instinctively leaped forward, catching the edge of the hole where the trail once was. She pulled herself back onto solid ground before looking around for the source of the attack, peering over the edge of the newly created hole in the path.

It was a straight drop down to the canyon floor where the two tribes, the teenagers, and the old man were standing. Suddenly, a giant bug appeared next to them, grabbing the old man in its jaws. The two tribes panicked immediately, and for good reason. A good bite from the jaws of a canyon crawler would severely injure, if not kill, an average person.

However, the three teenagers didn't seem to fear the bug as much as Rin thought, luring it away from the old man with a series of attacks. The Water Tribe boy seemed to be a nonbender, wielding a boomerang and club, while the girl was a waterbender. The bald boy surprised Rin, conjuring a tornado and using it to slam the bug into the cliff wall.

_Is that an airbender? Weren't they all extinct?_ Rin always heard that the Air Nomads were wiped out by the Fire Nation, and she was never sure whether to believe it. It was true that she had never encountered an airbender, but wouldn't it be hard to kill off an entire race? Especially since these were nomads, and nomads always traveled around. Upon hearing that the Fire Nation was out to kill them, some of them must have hid, right? Besides, they could fly! It's hard to chase someone who isn't restricted to the ground. Either way, whoever had tried to attack her was gone, and Rin continued down the path to the canyon floor, still prepared to dodge an attack if it came flying at her.

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><p>By the time Rin made it down the the canyon floor, the tribes were already leaving. They split up at a fork in the path, with the Gan Jins going down the right side while the other tribe went to the left. In the distance, Rin saw the three teenagers discussing something before the girl went down the right path with the Gan Jins, and the Water Tribe boy went the other way with the other tribe. The airbender looked around after his friends left and noticed Rin. Upon noticing her, he waved to her, walking up to greet the thief.<p>

The airbender glanced up at the wall where the boulder had fallen. "Hey, sorry about the boulder. We didn't want to be followed by the Fire Nation," he explained. "Are you a refugee?"

"I guess you could say that," Rin muttered. It was a complete lie, but who could tell? She looked just like any refugee in the Earth Kingdom, carrying only a sack of her belongings and the clothes on her back. Posing as a refugee would usually bring sympathy and, with that, food and other resources.

"Well, you should come with us. We're crossing this canyon!" the boy exclaimed, raising his staff. Suddenly, wings unfolded from the staff, and the boy flew into the air, soaring high above the canyon and out of sight.

"Yup, he's an airbender," Rin mumbled. Now that she thought about it, she had heard that the Avatar had returned recently... but that rumor always pops up every few months, and it never goes anywhere. Besides, this was a boy that was younger than her. Unless the Avatar managed to go through four reincarnations over the last hundred years, he or she would be over a hundred years old by now, if it was an airbender. Maybe the boy was just a descendant of the Air Nomads.

_Eh, no use wondering about it,_ Rin thought, walking down the right side of the path, following the Water Tribe girl and the Gan Jin Tribe. By now, the sun had already started to set over the horizon, casting an orange glow over the canyon. The air got cooler as the night came closer, eventually making Rin wrap her cloak around herself to keep warm. After a few hours of trailing behind the Gan Jins, Rin noticed that they had stopped at a clearing and were starting to make camp.

"Finally," Rin muttered, turning around and going back the way she came. After she made sure that she was far enough, she went off the side of the path, making camp in a small clearing among the rocks. She would be sleeping under the stars once again, as the sky was clear, and the chance of rain was nonexistent. It wasn't like she had a choice - she didn't have a tent, or even a blanket. But for now, her cloak would be fine as a makeshift blanket.

She put her bag down and opened it, grabbing a wooden handle sticking out of the bag. Out came a small, red hatchet, scratched up from months of use. With the hatchet, Rin set off into the canyon, looking for brush to use as firewood. She eventually came across a small bush and knelt down, raising her hatchet to cut a stick from the bush.

"Who's down there?"

Rin, startled by the sudden shout, looked up to see the airbending boy descend from the sky. Her muscles relaxed, and she looked back down, chopping the branch from the bush.

"Oh, it's you," the boy said as he touched down behind Rin. "Now that I think of it, I never got your name. I'm Aang, what about you?"

"Rin," she replied, not looking up from her task. She cut a few more branches and bundled them into her arms.

"You know, the Gan Jins are a few minutes ahead if you take the trail. Why don't you camp with them?" Aang asked.

"I prefer to camp alone," Rin muttered. "And I'm kinda busy here. I'd like some privacy."

"Oh, sorry," Aang apologized, before taking off into the air. Rin went back to chopping firewood from the bushes, slowly but surely gathering a bundle of dry sticks in her arms. After she had enough, she made her way back to camp, where she arranged the sticks into a pile. She took a pair of spark rocks from her bag and scraped them together, causing bright sparks to fly into the air and into the wood. Soon, a small fire was blazing in the middle of her campsite.

_This'll keep me warm when I sleep... not that I'll be doing much of that tonight,_ Rin thought. The Gan Jins were most likely exhausted from their trip through the canyon and were probably sleeping like the dead. It was the perfect night to strike the camp. Slowly, Rin stood up and walked down the path towards the Gan Jin camp.

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><p><em>Bread... bread... knife... oh, a necklace. Better take that. And this scroll, too. Eh, I'll just take the entire bag.<em>

Rin took the small bag and gently placed it into her larger bag, making sure that she didn't make any noise. She was currently inside a tent of the Gan Jin Tribe, stealing their stuff while they slept less than ten feet away. After she had cleared the tent of what she could find, she exited the tent, stepping out into the moonlight. Looking around to make sure that nobody had noticed her presence, she moved on to the next tent, opening the flap covering the entrance and slipping inside.

_One person... looks like a girl. Bag in the corner, that should have something,_ Rin observed. She crept over to the bag, using her hands to feel around the inside. Suddenly, her hand hit a cold, metal object, just as a quiet jingling sound came from the bag.

_Shit, stupid coins._ Rin turned around to check if the girl had awoken. Luckily, the girl was still asleep, snoring on the other side of the tent. Rin breathed a silent sigh of relief, before carefully removing the coins from the bag. She began to place them into her own bag, before noticing something peculiar about them.

_Wait... these are thicker than they should be. Is this Water Tribe money?_ Rin silently cursed, remembering that Earth Kingdom merchants rarely accepted Water Tribe currency. It was usually only the coastal traders, and even then, they were few and far between. Water Tribe coins would only weigh down her bag... but they were already in her hand. _Eh, whatever. I'll use them on the first merchant who accepts them._

"Uh... Aang? Is that you?"

Rin whirled around just as the girl sat up. They locked eyes for a second before Rin immediately stood up and bolted out of the tent.

"Hey! Get back here!"

Rin ran through the camp, looking back to see the girl who was just coming out of the tent. In the moonlight, she could see the girl's blue clothes and hair loops, and she realized that it was the Water Tribe girl that the Avatar had been talking to earlier in the day. She sprinted out of the camp, back down the path, and to her campsite, looking back to see if the girl had followed her.

After making sure that the girl hadn't followed her back, she breathed a sigh of relief, tossing her now full bag onto the ground. The fire had already burned itself out, and all that was left was smoldering embers flickering in a pile. Rin lay down on the ground, wrapping her cloak around herself before falling asleep.

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><p>The first thing Rin felt, even before opening her eyes, was the sunlight pouring down onto her face. With a groan, she sat up, looking out over her campsite. She saw her bag, which was now full of food, money, and other items, as well as the almost dead fire.<p>

_If I sell all the stuff I don't need, that combined with the money I got... should feed me for at least two weeks. Or I could use some of it to get some new boots, or maybe a new cloak. Mine are already falling apart._ Rin got up and slung her bag over her shoulder, using a few ropes to secure it to her back. After making sure that she had left nothing behind, she started heading back down the path. Eventually, she made it to the clearing where the Gan Jins had been staying, though they had already packed up and left.

"Now to get out of this shitty canyon," Rin muttered, following the numerous footprints of the Gan Jins down the canyon path. After a few hours of walking, she stopped by the side of the path to take a break. She took a small roll of bread she had stolen the night before and started eating. When she was done she pulled a canteen from her bag and took a gulp of water.

_That's lunch for today,_ Rin thought before going back onto the trail. Soon, she reached a clearing where she saw a bizarre sight: the two tribes scattered on the ground with all sorts of food tumbling everywhere. The Avatar was standing in the middle of the scene, fixated on what seemed to be a custard tart. Behind the entire scene was a giant cliff face, rising hundreds of feet in the air.

_I guess everyone had more food than I thought_. Just as she thought that, a screeching noise filled the air. She looked up to see a swarm of canyon crawlers scrambling down the cliff wall, heading straight for the clearing where everyone was gathered. Rin wasn't sure whether they were attracted by the food or the large gathering of people.

"Well, best get out of here before things get messy," Rin muttered, looking for a place to hide and wait out the fight.

**_HISSSSSSSS!_**

Hearing a loud noise behind her, Rin turned around to see a large canyon crawler descending from the rock formations above. Cursing under her breath, she reached back into her bag, pulling out the hatchet she had used to chop firewood last night. It was the best weapon for the situation, as knives or daggers wouldn't do much to such a large beast, and she had nothing else to defend herself with. As the canyon crawler lunged at her, she sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the bug's deadly jaws. With a grunt, she swung her hatchet into the side of the canyon crawler, causing it to hiss in pain.

_I need to get out of here_, Rin thought, backing away from the canyon crawler. Suddenly, she heard a shout from the Avatar, who had jumped up onto a large boulder.

"Everyone, do what I do!" he shouted, luring a canyon crawler with a piece of bread and wrapping a burlap sack around its mouth. With the deadly jaws trapped, the beast was unable to fight. The two tribes stopped for a moment before moving into action, working together to trap the canyon crawlers.

"I guess that'll work," Rin muttered, grabbing an empty food sack from the ground. She threw a piece of bread off to the side, luring the canyon crawler away from her, then closed the bag over the bug's snout while it was distracted. It immediately started struggling, but the bag prevented it from opening its jaws, rendering the bug harmless.

_That's great... but now what?_ Rin had a giant bug trapped, but what was she supposed to do with it? Looking back towards the Avatar, she saw him riding a canyon crawler, using a bag of food on a stick to guide it around. Everyone else had managed to capture a bug and were doing the same.

"Follow me! We're getting out of this canyon!" the Avatar shouted, leading everyone up the cliff wall. Rin realized that this was how they were supposed to get out of the canyon; the earthbender that had thrown the boulder the previous day must have gotten injured or killed. Quickly, Rin jumped onto her canyon crawler and tried to guide it to the wall. However, it wasn't cooperating, jerking from side to side and trying to buck her off.

_That's right... the Avatar used some food on a stick._ Looking around, Rin spotted the custard tart from earlier sitting on the ground, right next to the canyon crawler. She leaned over and drove the blunt end of the hatchet into the yellow pastry, making sure that it stuck to the metal.

"This'll work," Rin muttered, holding the custard tart in front of the canyon crawler's eyes. Sure enough, it immediately stopped roaming aimlessly and started to walk straight ahead, trying to reach the food held out in front of it. Soon, she was holding the bug with a death grip as it crawled directly up the wall. Looking up, she saw that the two tribes had already cleared the wall.

Just before she reached the top, a sack of food came flying over the cliff. Her canyon crawler jerked its head to the side, more interested in the large sack of food falling down the canyon than the custard tart impaled on Rin's hatchet. When she realized that the canyon crawler was turning around, she swore, quickly throwing the custard tart from her hatchet and placing it back in her bag.

_Shit_. As the canyon crawler turned around, Rin looked up towards the cliff. It was only a few feet away, and this was her only chance to escape the canyon before her mount reversed direction. With a grunt, she pushed off the canyon crawler, jumping towards the edge of the cliff. Her hands barely reached the edge, and she grasped on, clinging to the ledge as hard as she could. Her life depended on it, as there was a huge drop below her with no place to land but the canyon floor. Just looking down gave her vertigo. The ledge crumbled from her weight and fell around her left hand, leaving her swinging by her right arm, which was starting to burn.

"Help!" Rin shouted, hoping that the two tribes hadn't left yet. She didn't know how long she could hold on, but the pain in her arm told her that it wouldn't be long until she fell. However, just before she gave out, a hand came from over the ledge, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up. As she rolled onto the ground and looked up, she saw the Avatar looking down at her, smiling.

"Thanks," Rin breathed, panting and rubbing her arm.

"No problem," the Avatar replied, before turning around and walking over to the Water Tribe boy and girl, who were further away from the cliff.

"Who's that?" Rin heard the boy ask the Avatar.

"That's Rin. We met yesterday while she was crossing the canyon," the Avatar explained. Rin stood up and dusted herself off before looking towards the Avatar's group.

"Wait..." the girl muttered, looking at Rin's face. "I know her! She's the one who robbed me last night!"

"Wait, what?" the Water Tribe boy asked as Rin swore under her breath. She instantly went on the defensive as the girl, reaching towards her belt, removed the cork from her waterskin. A stream of water flowed from the opening, forming a whip.

"I don't want any trouble," Rin said, gripping a couple of knives attached to her waist. Among them were knives she had stolen from the Gan Jin tribe, as well as more from earlier encounters and robberies.

"You stole from me, and the Gan Jins too! They were refugees, you know!" the girl shouted, suddenly lashing out with her water whip. Rin immediately rolled to the side, avoiding the attack, and drew the knives from her waist, throwing them at the girl.

"Katara!" the Avatar shouted, jumping into the path of the knives and blowing them away. The resulting blast of air knocked Rin off of her feet and sent her tumbling backwards, back towards the cliff.

_Shitshitshit_. Rin grasped at the ground, trying to regain her footing, when the ground suddenly disappeared from underneath her. Instead, there was a straight drop to the canyon floor, hundreds of feet below her. She tried to grab at the ledge, but it was too late, as she was already several meters below the top of the cliff and falling fast.

_I guess this is how I die,_ Rin thought, watching silently as the ground rushed up to her. She closed her eyes, and the last thing she felt was an explosion of pain.

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><p><strong>A few things about this story:<strong>

**1) This story will be from the 3rd person perspective of Rin, meaning that the reader will only see and know things from her perspective. The plot and story is designed to work from a limited perspective, but I'm not too fond of first person perspective. I may shift the point of view to other characters, but shifts will always be noted and won't be used often.**

**2) There may or may not be romance. Having no experience with the genre, I will tread cautiously. It is not the main focus of the plot, however. The main focus is on the OC, and how she develops and interacts with the other characters over the course of the story. I'll probably decide if there will be romance by the time the second book comes around (episode 21 in the show).**

**3) As a novice writer, I know that my work isn't perfect (in fact, it might not even be that great). I'm always looking to improve, so criticism is welcomed.**

**4) There is no regular update schedule, but I'll try to make it less than a month between updates.**

**EDIT 8/7/14: The first few chapters, in my opinion, aren't as well written as the chapters afterward, since I learned a lot from writing those chapters (this is my first fanfiction, after all). The next few chapters may have a noticeable drop in quality, since I rewrote chapter one in between chapters six and seven. ****You may think that I'm trying to trick you into reading the entire fanfiction even if you don't like it right now, and that's entirely possible. ****Who knows, this may be a more elaborate "IM BAD AT SUMMARIES IT GETS BETTER ONCE YOU READ THE STORY." ****However, that's all for you to decide by either continuing to read or not (keep reading please). **

**Please leave a review and if you liked the story, favorite/follow. It lets me know that you guys appreciate my writing.**


	2. The Storm

**A/N: If you didn't notice, or you just hit the "latest chapter" button, I changed the first chapter (and about a sentence of the second chapter, just for continuity change). Go read it. It's completely new.**

**Edit 3/26: Disregard the A/N, the first chapter is completely gone.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Storm<strong>

_Everything hurts._

That was Rin's first thought as she slowly woke up, even before she had opened her eyes. Every part of her body ached, and it felt like a saber-tooth moose lion was pounding her skull in. As she grew more aware of her surroundings, she realized that she was covered by some sort of blanket. Rin forced her eyes open to see a tarp covering her body. Looking further, she saw that she was in some sort of large saddle. Suddenly, her memories of the fall rushed back to her.

_So that's why it hurts so much... at least I survived. But where am I?_ As Rin looked around, trying to find an answer, a voice came from behind her.

"Hey, you're awake!" said Aang. Rin turned around, seeing the boy sitting on top of the bison's head.

"What happened? What am I doing on your bison?" asked Rin.

"Well, after you fell, you got hurt pretty bad. You took a hit to the head, and the rest of your body got scraped up pretty badly. You were pretty lucky to survive. We brought you onto Appa, and Katara did the best she could to patch you up. Speaking of Katara, here she comes right now!" As Rin followed Aang's gaze, she saw the Water Tribe girl climbing up the bison's tail, an empty sack in hand.

"We should fly to the market today. We're out of - oh, you're awake," said Katara, noticing Rin's struggle to sit up.

"So, how long have I been out?" asked Rin, glancing up at Katara.

"Only a night. We'll probably drop you off at the market today, since you can obviously take care of yourself by stealing from others." It was obvious to Rin that Katara didn't like the thief, most likely due to their first meeting at the Gan Jin camp.

"You know we can't do that, Katara," Aang commented from Appa's head. "Rin's still beat up pretty bad. You were the one that said that it would take a few days before she would be in shape to do anything, remember?"

"I know, but we can't trust her. She's going to steal all of our stuff and run when we aren't looking."

"Hey, she wouldn't do anything like that. Right, Rin?" Aang looked expectantly at Rin, waiting for an answer.

"Uh... no?" Rin said, thinking that an honest answer would get her kicked off the bison.

"I'm still skeptical about bringing her around with us," said Katara, sitting down on the opposite side of the saddle. Rin noticed the Water Tribe boy carrying the group's supplies up the bison's tail and into the saddle.

"Oh, the girl's awake. So what were you all talking about?" asked the boy, throwing the sleeping bags and tent down onto the saddle and sitting down near Katara, eyeing the injured girl briefly.

"Who are you?" Rin asked.

"Sokka, he's my brother," Katara answered, confirming Rin's suspicions. "And Sokka, I don't think it's a good idea to keep Rin with us. She's going to steal something, I know it."

"Don't be too hard on her. It's not like we have anything she would want. We're out of everything," said Sokka, grabbing the empty food sack and shaking it to demonstrate his point. Rin remembered that she still had a few pieces of bread left over in her bag, most of it from the Gan Jins.

"Hey, I have a bit of food if any of you want some. It's not much, but it'll last you until the market," she said, opening the sack and taking out four pieces of bread. Aang and Sokka reached over and took a piece for themselves while Katara sat still at the end of the saddle.

"Go on; take one," Rin urged, extending her hand towards Katara.

"It's probably poisoned or something," Katara muttered.

"Hey, I'm a thief, not a killer. At least, not yet. The bread's fine, see?" Rin took a bite out of her own piece of bread to demonstrate. Reluctantly, Katara took the bread from Rin's fingers and started eating.

"I still don't trust you, but thanks," mumbled Katara, looking away towards their emptied campsite. The four teenagers sat there, munching on their morning snacks in silence.

"So... you're the Avatar?" asked Rin, turning towards Aang.

"Yup! How'd you guess?"

"Well, you're the only airbender around, and I heard that the Avatar had come back as an airbender. Put two and two together, and you're the Avatar." Rin took the tarp that was covering her legs and threw it off, placing it with the other supplies in the saddle without actually standing.

"So, are we going to the market or what?" asked Sokka. In response, Aang jumped up into position, grabbing onto Appa's reigns.

"On it. Appa, yip yip!"

With a groan, Appa flew into the sky, heading towards the nearby port, startling Rin for a moment.

* * *

><p>Once the harbor came into sight, Aang signaled Appa to go down, landing the bison in the water next to the dock with a splash.<p>

"We're going to go down to the market to see if we can get some food. You should probably stay put, Rin," said Aang as he and the two Water Tribe siblings jumped down onto the dock.

"I'm fine, what are you saying?" Rin tried to get up to prove her point, but as soon as she stood up, a splitting headache forced her back down into the saddle.

"I think you need to be able to stand up to be fine," Sokka called from the dock. Rin gave out a groan of frustration and lay back down, resting her head.

"Are you sure we should leave her with everything? We hardly know her, and she might take our stuff and run," said Katara to Aang and Sokka.

"Katara, I think you should stop being so paranoid. Everything will be fine," said Aang.

"Yeah, and remember, she could barely stand up. We only need to worry once she gets better," said Sokka. The three headed off into the market leaving Rin alone on top of the bison. Once Rin saw them leave, she crawled over to the corner of the saddle where the group's supplies were, raiding them despite the trio's faith in her.

_They've got to have left something good in here,_ she thought as she rummaged through their supplies. However, true to Sokka's statement back at the campsite, there was nothing that she could steal and hide. The only thing there was a tarp and a few sleeping bags.

_You'd think that the Avatar and his friends would have at least something good..._ Rin thought as she put the supplies back in place. Just as she put everything back the way it was, she saw the group coming back from the market empty handed.

"What happened?" Rin called out to them. "I thought you were going to buy some food!"

"We realized that we were out of money," Sokka shouted back. Rin rolled her eyes, astounded that they would bother going to the market without any money.

"Well, I'm out of food, so I'm not giving you any more!" Rin shouted. She didn't know whether that was true, but she wasn't going to waste any more food on them. She planned on leaving once her injuries healed, and she wanted as much supplies as she could get before she left. Hopefully, the Avatar's little group would get a bit of supplies that Rin could steal or mooch from.

"Well, we're out of food and out of money. Now what?" Katara asked. An old couple passed by behind them as she spoke, arguing about the weather.

"Don't go out there!" shouted the old lady. "There's going to be a giant storm today! My joints tell me so!"

"Relax, it's nice and clear. The fish aren't going to catch themselves, woman," said the old man, pointing out towards the clear skies over the sea.

"Well, you've got to find someone else to help you catch them, because I'm not going out there!"

"Fine! I'll find someone else to haul that fish, and I'll pay them double!" Upon hearing this, Sokka's face lit up.

"I'll go," he called, approaching the old man.

"You're hired," the old man said instantly. As he retreated to his fishing boat, Katara came up to Sokka, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you should go out there? The old lady said that there was going to be a large storm. I think we should take shelter somewhere."

"Are you kidding? Shelter from what, the sun?" asked Sokka, gesturing towards the sky. "Besides, you said we needed money, and he's paying double."

"Double?" the old man shouted, turning around. "Who told you that nonsense?"

* * *

><p>"Sokka, I don't think this is such a good idea. Look at the sky," Aang said, looking at the storm clouds pulling in as they all gathered around the ship that the old man owned.<p>

"I said I was going to do this job, Aang. I can't back out just because of some bad weather," Sokka said as he brought a crate below deck.

"I hate to break it to you, but you're airbending friend is right," Rin shouted from Appa's saddle. "That sense of honor is going to get you killed in the storm."

"Airbending friend..." the old man mumbled, turning towards Aang. "Well, I'll be a hog-monkey's uncle. You're the Avatar, ain't ya?"

"That's right!" Aang said gleefully, putting on a large grin.

"Well, don't be so smug about it!" shouted the old man, wiping the smile off Aang's face in an instant. "The Avatar vanished for a hundred years! You turned your back on the world, kid!"

"Stop yelling at him!" Katara said, cutting in front of Aang. "He would never turn his back on anyone!"

"Oh, would he? Then I must have imagined the past hundred years of pain and suffering!"

"Aang is the bravest person I know! He's done nothing but save and help people since I've met him! It's not his fault that he disappeared... right, Aang?"

As Katara turned around, she saw Aang backing off and flying away on his glider, heading out towards the mountains. Shocked seemed to fill Katara's face as Rin watched her look after him.

"Aang!" Katara cried out, trying to chase after him.

"That's right! Run away like you ran away a hundred years ago!" shouted the old man, waving his fist in the air.

"You're a horrible old man," Katara shouted, looking away from Aang and walking past the man and climbing onto Appa's head, grabbing onto the reins.

"Appa, yip yip!"

Rin held onto the side of the saddle, trying to keep herself on the bison as it flew into the air. Once Appa stabilized and started heading towards the mountain, she crawled over to the front of the saddle behind Katara.

"You know, the fisherman was kind of right. If the Avatar hadn't disappeared for a hundred years, things would be a lot different."

"Shut up! Aang wouldn't do something like that deliberately; he's the kindest soul I know!" As Katara spoke, she didn't move her eyes from the terrain in front of her.

"I wouldn't know; he blew me off a cliff."

Katara gave a nasty look towards Rin, then turned around, cutting off any further conversation. Once they reached the mountain, Katara directed Appa around the cliffs, looking for Aang. The clouds had come in, and rain was starting to pour down.

"Hey, water girl, I know you're used to rain, but could you bring us down under some shelter so I don't freeze?"

"Be quiet. If you want to get dry, help me find Aang."

Rin poked her head over the side of the saddle and started scanning the mountain, looking for any sign of Aang. After a few minutes, she spotted a path leading up to a cave.

"I think he went in there," Rin shouted over the rising storm, pointing out the cave to Katara, who steered Appa to the ground. Katara then jumped off, leading Appa, with Rin on his saddle, into the cave.

"Aang?" Katara called into the darkness of the cave. From the saddle, Rin saw a dark outline of the boy in a fetal position sitting in the middle of the cave.

"Oh Aang, I was so worried," said Katara, breathing out a sigh of relief and walking up behind him as she spoke.

"I'm sorry for running away," Aang whispered.

"It's not your fault, Aang. The fisherman was way out of line," said Katara, trying to comfort the boy.

"Actually, he wasn't."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"It has something to do with your dream, doesn't it?" Katara leaned over in front of Aang and put a hand on his shoulder. "Talk to me, Aang."

"It's kind of a long story."

Appa lowered his head to nuzzle Aang, receiving a small hug in return, probably understanding his pain.

"I'm going to try to get a little fire going," said Katara, heading towards the cave entrance. Rin sat up, watching Katara go out into the rain to find firewood. After a few minutes, she came back soaking wet, with a small bundle of firewood in her arms.

"I'm pretty sure you can't build a fire with wet firewood," Rin said snarkily.

"Bring the wood over here," Aang said. Katara put the wood out in front of him and Aang blew a blast of air at the wood, blow-drying it almost instantly. The three sat there for a few seconds in silence.

"So I'm going to assume that you have no fire starters, and that the Avatar can't firebend, since you're just sitting around watching a cold pile of sticks," said Rin. Katara gave out a large sigh before looking up and nodding her head.

"Figures. Use these," Rin said, taking a pair of spark rocks out of her bag and throwing them down to Katara. The Water Tribe girl scraped the rocks together, creating a spark and lighting the bundle of wood. Soon, there was a small fire burning in the middle of the cave.

"So, Aang, tell me what happened," said Katara, feeding a stick into the fire but still glancing at Aang.

"I'll never forget the day the monks told me I was the Avatar..."

* * *

><p>"... Next thing I know, I was waking up in your arms after you found me in the iceberg," said Aang, finishing his story.<p>

"You ran away," Katara said, trying to accept Aang's story.

"And the Fire Nation attacked the temple. I wasn't there when my people needed me... when the _world_ needed me!"

"Aang..." Katara reached out to try and comfort the boy, but he turned away.

"The fisherman was right. I did turn my back against the world."

"You're being too hard on yourself, even if you did run away. If you had stayed, you would have been killed with all of the other airbenders."

"You don't know that."

"Maybe I don't... but I feel like it was meant to be this way. The world needs you now. You give people hope."

"Couldn't he have given people hope a hundred years ago?" Rin asked, cutting into the conversation. "Honestly, if the Avatar here hadn't run away, this world might have been a lot better than it is now."

"You don't know that!" Katara shouted. "Besides, Aang was desperate to stay with Gyatso. Every child would want to stay with their parents, and Gyatso was like a father to Aang - even someone like you would know that feeling, the feeling of love and -"

"Actually, I don't," Rin interrupted.

"What?" asked Katara, calming down from her rant against Rin.

"I've never known that feeling," Rin said simply, as though it were obvious.

"You've never had someone you've cared about? No parents, no guardian?" Katara asked.

"Nope. Not even a childhood. Woke up one day in the middle of the forest a few years ago, and then I just went from there, doing what I do."

"Figures," Katara said, getting up from the fire. "Someone like you didn't experience the innocence of being a child."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Rin asked. However, before she could get an answer, someone ran into the cave.

"Help! Oh please, help!"

As the figure came into the light of the fire, the group saw that it was the wife of the fisherman who had gone out with Sokka. Katara ran over to her, grabbing her by the wrist.

"It's okay. You're safe now," she said, trying to comfort the old lady.

"But my husband isn't! They should have been back by now, and the storm is becoming a typhoon!"

"Oh spirits... Sokka's out there!" said Katara.

"I'm going to find him," Aang declared, jumping onto Appa.

"I'm coming with you!" Katara said, following Aang onto the bison.

"I'm staying here!" shouted the old lady, crossing her arms and sitting down.

"Same," Rin mumbled, crawling down Appa's tail with one of the group's blankets. She was still too weak to stand, and the cold of the storm wasn't doing much to help.

"We'll be back soon, I promise. Appa, yip yip!"

The bison flew out of the cave, leaving Rin and the old lady alone. Rin lay down, covered herself with the blanket, and took a nap, waiting for them to return.

* * *

><p>"We're back!" Aang called out into the cave, his loud entrance waking Rin from her nap. She opened her eyes and saw Aang, Katara, Sokka, and the old fisherman climbing down from Appa and walking into the cave. The old lady got up and embraced the fisherman.<p>

"You owe this boy an apology," the old lady said, pointing down towards Aang.

"Eh, how about a free fish?" the fisherman said, holding up a fish he had taken from his now destroyed boat.

"I don't eat meat," Aang said.

"Fish ain't meat!" the fisherman shouted, laughing.

"Uh, so do I still get paid?" Sokka asked, putting his hand out. The fisherman promptly threw the fish in Sokka's hand, earning a look of disgust. Meanwhile, Aang and Katara were talking on the other side of the cave.

"Katara, I think you're right. I should stop thinking about the past."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't know what would have happened if I had stayed, but I'm here now. I need to make the most of it."

"That's good, Aang. I don't think you'll have to worry about any more nightmares."

While the fisherman was thanking Aang for saving him, Rin noticed the rain stopping, revealing the sun poking through the thinning clouds. She took her blanket and crawled up Appa's tail and into the saddle, settling herself in the corner of the saddle and waiting for the other three to notice the absence of the rain.

"Hey, look! It stopped raining!" Sokka shouted, prompting everyone to go outside. After looking out over the sea for a few moments, Aang, Sokka, and Katara climbed back onto Appa where Rin was still waiting.

"So, are we heading out now?" Rin asked.

"Yup. We're going to go as far north as we can with the remaining daylight then find somewhere to camp," Aang replied.

"Glad to know you're still hitchhiking with us," Katara growled, giving Rin a glare before looking back at Aang.

"Hey, you guys got me into this state, it's only right for you to care for me until I'm better," Rin said as Appa took off.

"You should be fine enough to walk tomorrow. We'll drop you off somewhere," Katara said.

"Fine with me," Rin replied. The group fell into silence as they flew on towards their next destination, leaving the storm behind.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: It's hard to do much with a backstory episode, but I did what I could so Rin could fit in naturally. Please leave a review, and have a good day.**


	3. The Blue Spirit

**A/N: So in case you haven't figured it out yet:** _Italics are usually thoughts._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: The Blue Spirit<strong>

"Aang, I think we should land. Sokka doesn't look so good."

Looking back, Aang saw Sokka curled up on the floor of the saddle, breathing heavily. He let out a loud series of coughs, causing Rin and Katara to raise their arms to protect themselves from whatever disease Sokka had caught.

"There are some ruins over there. Seems like a good place to land," Rin suggested, looking out over the saddle and pointing. Aang started steering Appa down to the ruined buildings, landing in a large courtyard. The sun was starting to set over the mountains, casting a shadow over the group.

"Aang, go see if you can find any ginger root in this area. I can make it into tea to help Sokka feel better," Katara said. Aang nodded, flying off to scout the area while the others stayed with Appa. Rin stood up, feeling a lot better than she had in the morning. She felt fully recovered from her injuries - which was odd, seeing that she had fallen off a cliff only a day before.

"So, Rin, I assume you're going to leave now? Go on, nobody's stopping you," Katara said, trying to force Sokka into a sleeping bag.

"Are you kidding? It's going to be night soon, and the nearest village is hours away. I'd rather take my chances staying with you guys then go out into the woods alone in the dark. A place like this is probably teeming with bandits and thieves," Rin replied, digging out a few supplies from her bag.

"So you'd fit right in, am I right?"

"Oh, shut it."

Rin grabbed an armful of wooden planks from the various destroyed structures around the courtyard and set them in a pile near Appa, cutting a few of the planks with her hatchet. She then took her spark rocks out of her bag, using them to create a fire and keep the group warm throughout the cold winter night.

"Move the boy closer to the fire," Rin commanded, gesturing towards Katara.

"We have names, you know," Katara said as she rolled Sokka, who was now stuffed inside of a sleeping bag, near the heat of the flame.

"I'm bad with names. Usually don't have to remember any other than my own," Rin replied, climbing up onto Appa and searching through the group's supplies.

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop that!" Katara shouted, climbing up behind Rin.

"Calm down, it's not like I'm always a thief," Rin said, climbing back down past Katara with the fish Sokka had gotten from the old man earlier today. She stuck the fish onto a stick and held it up against the fire, roasting it against the flames.

"That's Sokka's fish! We should be the ones eating it!" Katara said.

"I made the fire, and I'm doing the cooking. We'll split it evenly, fair?" Rin asked, turning the fish so it would cook evenly.

Katara let out a sigh and nodded, sitting down on the opposite side of the fire. Even inside of his sleeping bag, Sokka was shivering and chattering his teeth, obviously down with some illness.

"You know what I love the most about Appa? His sense of humor," Sokka said nasally with an odd look on his face.

"Sokka, what are you talking about? Have you lost your mind?" Katara asked.

"I'm no healer, but I think he's delirious. Whatever he has, it's getting worse," Rin explained. Just then, Aang flew back into the courtyard, carrying a small scroll with him.

"How's Sokka doing?" Aang asked, folding up his glider and touching down onto the ground as he spoke.

"Not so well. He probably caught a cold from being out in the storm for so long," Katara replied, folding up a wet rag and pressing it against Sokka's forehead. His nose was starting to run, and his shivering was getting worse. Aang kneeled down and put the scroll on the ground, spreading it out to reveal a map.

"I couldn't find any ginger root to make the tea, but I did manage to find this map of the surrounding area. There's a herbalist on top of of a nearby mountain, so we can probably get a cure for Sokka there," Aang explained, pointing out the location to the group.

"Aang, Sokka's in no condition to travel. It will just take some rest. I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow, anywa-" Katara tried to say before breaking into a fit of coughs of her own.

"Not you too!" Aang said, looking up from the map.

"Relax, it's just a little cough. I'll be fine," Katara reassured Aang, before she started coughing again, this time with much more force.

"That 'little cough' is what your brother had back on the bison. You should try and rest before it gets any worse," Rin suggested. Katara replied, lying down next to Sokka.

"I'm going to visit the herbalist and see if I can get any medicine. Rin, can you watch Katara and Sokka for me?" Aang asked.

"Sure, but you owe me," Rin replied. Aang nodded in confirmation before rushing off down the mountain, leaving behind a large trail of dust as he opened his glider and disappeared.

_Well, I guess the Avatar owes me a favor now. That could be useful,_ Rin thought. She looked over at the Water Tribe siblings who were curled up by the fire. Sokka was shivering despite how warm his sleeping bag seemed to be, and Katara was coughing up a storm.

"Now I've got to take care of you two..." Rin mumbled, dipping the now-dry rag on Sokka's hot forehead into the bowl of water and placing it back on his head.

* * *

><p>"Water..." Sokka moaned weakly.<p>

"Rin... take my waterskin and find a river. We need water," Katara said, holding up her waterskin with a shaking hand.

"Well, I guess I can do that," Rin replied, taking the pouch from Katara's hand. She went over to the map Aang had found, looking for a river. She eventually found one in a nearby valley and set off, taking the waterskin, map, and her hatchet with her.

_At least there's a path down the valley,_ Rin thought, walking down the winding path to the river. The forest around her wasn't too dense, and the light of the sun wasn't completely gone, so Rin got a dim view of the area surrounding the path. As she looked around, she caught a glimpse of something moving through the trees. Looking closer, Rin saw what seemed to be a group of archers jumping through the trees, quickly and effortlessly leaping from branch to branch. One of the men was carrying something over his shoulder - something with orange robes and blue tattoos, Rin noticed in the dying light.

"I'm sure those two will be able to handle having a dry throat for a while," Rin mumbled, running after the archers. She tried to keep up with them, but eventually, they disappeared out of her sight. Rin sighed, taking the map out of her bag and spreading it out against the forest floor. She sat down to read the map, trying to find out where Aang's captors were headed. The light was still bright enough that she could see the map and make out where the archers were going.

_They're going this way, so if they continue along this route they'll eventually reach... a high security Fire Nation fortress. Just my luck._ Rin closed the map and got back up. Following the archers, she started running towards the fortress, wondering how she could rescue Aang.

After several minutes of running, the forest suddenly disappeared, revealing a small clearing with the fortress sitting in the middle. Rin ducked into a bush, hiding away from any guards that may have spotted her. Looking back towards the fortress, she tried to find a way to break in.

_There's a watchtower on every corner, and the front gate is heavily guarded. I don't see any way to get through from here,_ Rin thought, before spotting a stream of water flowing out from the side of the fortress. She ran across the outskirts of the clearing, making sure to keep hidden in the brush, until she found what she was looking for - a sewage pipe.

By now, the day had already turned to night, and the only light came from the watchtowers. Rin took off her cloak and left it in a bush, along with the map, taking only her hatchet in case she needed to defend herself. After making sure that none of the guards on the wall were looking in her direction, she quickly scampered to the wall, hiding in a shadow next to the sewage hole.

Rin examined the pipe, finding a grate covering the entrance. Luckily, it was old and rusted, allowing Rin to knock it off the hole with a few quick swings from her hatchet. Rin looked into the hole, and a putrid smell wafted up into her nose. Dirty water was flowing out of the half-submerged hole in the wall and into a small stream, where it drained into the forest.

_This is the Avatar, Rin. He's the world's last hope, and besides, he owes you a favor. It'll be worth it._ Rin started wading into the pitch-black sewers of the fortress, the freezing cold water reaching up to her waist. The tunnel was just high enough so that, if she leaned down slightly, she could walk through the tunnels without hitting her head against the ceiling. Rin grimaced as she felt a small, slick object pass by her leg, slowly drifting towards the exit of the sewers.

_Well, this probably where all the poop goes. I shouldn't expect anything different._ Rin used her hatchet to scout in front of her, keeping her from hitting the walls of the tunnel, and she eventually hit a sharp turn in the tunnel after a few minutes of wandering through the darkness. As she waded around the corner, she saw a dim, orange light shining from above, illuminating the tunnel ahead.

"Finally, a way out of this dump," Rin said to herself, wading up to the hole in the ceiling. With a grunt, she jumped up and hoisted herself up through the hole, coming out into a small latrine room. Rin crawled out onto the floor, soaked and filthy from the waist down before getting up and looking out into the hallway. After making sure that no one was around, she started down the hallway, turning the corner and seeing a man tied to the ceiling by the wrists. By his attire, Rin presumed that he was a guard.

_Looks like someone got here before me_, Rin thought, proceeding past the guard. As she went around the next corner, she bumped into someone, causing her to fall back. Rin looked up and saw a man with a blue mask. He was clad entirely in a black body suit and wielded two curved swords. She got up, raising her hatchet to defend herself, but Aang ran up beside the man, prompting Rin to lower her weapon.

"Hey, Rin! Did you come to rescue me, too? Do you know this guy?" Aang asked, but the man in the mask signaled them to be quiet. He started creeping down the hallway towards the exit, but Rin stopped him, grabbing his arm.

"I know a good way we can get out of here," she whispered, as the man nodded in response. Rin lead the two back down the way she came and into the latrine room. She pointed down the hole, prompting a look of disgust from Aang's face.

"Are we seriously going down there?"

"It's the safest way out, and it's how I got in. Either you go through a hundred soldiers, or you go through a river of crap."

Rin climbed down the hole and splashed into the filthy water, followed by the masked man and Aang. Since she had already gone through the tunnel, the smell didn't bother her as much, but Aang had a look of disgust on his face from the putrid odor. The masked man didn't show any signs of being bothered; he had already started wading down through the tunnel. As the three drudged on through the darkness, an alarm suddenly started to ring above them.

"Well, they probably found out that you're missing. We should hurry," Rin said. After a few more minutes of wading through the sewers, the three reached the exit, climbing out of the river of sewage and into the clearing outside of the fortress. The masked man signaled towards the forest, and they started running to the safety of the trees. However, as they got close to the forest, Rin heard an arrow rush by, followed by a pinging noise. The masked man fell to the ground, a blunt arrow laying beside him. The mask had been knocked loose, revealing a large scar around the man's left eye.

"Never thought I'd see you again," Rin mumbled before turning to find a group of soldiers rushing at them from the side. She ran past the unconscious prince, dashing into the forest and picking up her stuff where she had left it. Looking back, Rin saw the soldiers approaching Aang, who was still standing over the body of the prince.

"Hurry up!" Rin shouted to the boy, who whipped up a large dust cloud with his airbending as Rin spoke. As the soldiers approached the cloud, Rin spotted Aang jumping into the forest while carrying the prince on his back. Rin met up with him, and they ran away into the fortress, leaving behind a group of confused soldiers. After they had gotten far enough from the fortress, they stopped to rest.

"To think he would rescue me..." Aang mumbled, putting the prince up against a tree.

"You know this guy?" Rin asked.

"Yes, he's been trying to capture me since I left the South Pole."

"So, why don't you just leave him here? Or kill him, if he's really that much trouble? You've got a good opportunity right now."

"Rin, are you kidding? I can't kill him, even if he's my enemy! Besides, he just saved me!"

"So, what are you going to do with him then?"

"I'll watch over him until he wakes up. Hopefully, we can settle our conflict with each other."

"Whatever. Just be careful. He's still your enemy. I'm going back now, so don't stay too long."

Rin ran off back in the direction of the ruins where Katara and Sokka were resting, but she suddenly remembered why she had gone out in the first place. She dug the waterskin out of her bag and went over to the river, filling up the pouch and corking it tightly. After running for several minutes, Rin arrived back at the courtyard, where the two Water Tribe siblings were resting. The fire had already gone out, and both of the teenagers were resting in their sleeping bags.

"Here's your water," Rin said, holding the waterskin above Sokka's head. The boy opened his mouth, and Rin poured the water down his throat. She proceeded to do the same thing for Katara, then drank some of the water herself.

"What took you so long?" Katara asked, her voice weak due to her sickness.

"I'll explain in the morning. You should go to sleep for now," Rin said. Katara complied, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. Rin looked back to check on Sokka and, after seeing that he was also asleep, set out to bring the fire back to light. When it was burning, Rin lay down against Appa and closed her eyes. The day had taken a lot out of her, and she needed a rest.

* * *

><p>Rin woke up to a faraway <em>whoosh<em>ing sound slowly coming closer to her location. Opening her eyes, she saw Aang fly in and land, carrying what seemed to be frozen frogs in his arm. He tapped Katara and Sokka on the head with his staff, waking them up before shoving a frog into each of their mouths.

"Suck on these, you'll feel better," Aang explained, going over to Appa's tail and lying down without any other explanation. Rin watched his face for any emotions, but he just held a dismal look across his face.

"Aang, how was your trip? Did you make any new friends?" Sokka asked through a mouthful of frog.

"No, I don't think I did," Aang replied. Sokka went back to sucking on his frog as Rin walked up next to Aang.

"So, what happened with the guy?" Rin asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Aang said, rolling away from her. Rin went over to check on the siblings and saw that the frogs had thawed and were now trying to escape. As the two realized what they had in their mouths, they spit out the frogs and started coughing, trying to get rid of the taste.

"So, what took the both of you so long to get back? All we needed was medicine and water," Katara asked.

"Well, I got captured by the Fire Nation and held prisoner, but Rin saved me," Aang replied. Rin noticed that he didn't mention the prince, but she let it slide, assuming that things hadn't gone well, and that the Avatar and the prince were still enemies. It would be better just to leave it at that, rather than let the two siblings worry.

"Huh. So she rescued you by herself? That's pretty impressive," Sokka said, looking over towards Rin.

"Hey, Rin, wanna join us?" Aang asked.

"What do you mean?" Rin asked.

"We're heading to the North Pole so that Aang can learn waterbending. Seeing that you managed to rescue him from a fortress, maybe you can help us fight against the Fire Nation when the time comes," Sokka explained.

"Are you crazy? She'll just take all of our stuff and run off!" Katara shouted, clearly rejecting the idea of Rin traveling with the group. Meanwhile, Rin was debating whether she should accept Aang's offer.

_This is the Avatar I'll be traveling with... and besides, it's better than traveling alone. Who knows, maybe I'll become famous as one of the Avatar's companions. That'll get me something, at least._

"I'll do it," Rin said, earning a grin from Aang and a frown from Katara.

"Well, that's settled. Rin, could you hand me the map?" Sokka asked. Rin took the map out of her bag and handed it to Sokka, who spread it on the ground.

"Makapu Village is over here. It's less than an hour away if we fly, and we can resupply there. We already ate the only food we had," Sokka explained, pointing out the village to everyone else.

"I think Appa's tired from flying around so much. It'll only take us a few hours to walk there, anyways, so I think that's what we should do," Aang suggested.

"Then let's go," Rin said. The four teenagers, along with their bison, walked out of the courtyard, which was now lit up by the morning sun. They left the ruins and started down the forest path, heading towards the next village.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks to those who reviewed so far. Please leave a review, and don't hesitate to tell me if there's anything wrong with the story. I don't prewrite anything (in fact, I don't preplan half the things I write), so the update schedule may be slightly irregular, though I will try to update about once a week.**


	4. The Fortuneteller

**A/N: Sorry for updating so late! Life happened, and stuff happened, and this chapter didn't happen. To make up, here's a longer chapter. Actually, now that Rin has joined the Gaang, I'll be aiming to make most chapters this long.**

**Note: small change in chapter 2. Rin woke up "a few years ago" as opposed to "about two years ago." Just a minor thing so continuity doesn't get messed up later.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: The Fortuneteller<p>

The group had stopped to take a lunch break by a small river, sitting around an empty fire pit on the riverbank. Katara was lecturing Rin on the "rules" of the group, while Aang messed around with some string. Sokka was sitting next to a fishing pole he had crafted, waiting for a potential lunch to come down the river.

"... and, despite what you might think, you can't just go around stealing everything you see!" Katara shouted.

"First of all, I steal to survive, not because I'm greedy. Secondly, why do you seem to hate me so much? It's not like I've done anything to you," Rin asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe you tried to invade my tent and steal all of my stuff!" Katara shouted, crossing her arms and turning away.

"Hey, at the time you were just a stranger with resources I could use. Now, you're an ally, at least for a little while. Besides, I was hungry, and I knew you guys had food," Rin said, trying to justify her actions, but Katara ignored her. Rin sighed and looked out towards the river, spotting a large, green fish jumping up and down.

"There's our lunch," Rin said, pointing out the fish to Sokka.

"That fish is taunting me!" Sokka declared as the fish jumped in and out of the river. He grabbed his fishing pole before running off to the water, flicking the rod forwards a few times before realizing that nothing was coming out.

"What happened to the fishing line?" Sokka asked, turning back towards the group. Katara started glaring at Rin, who shrugged.

"I have it here, Sokka. I didn't think you'd need it," Aang said, holding up the string, which was now braided with a flower in the middle.

"Ah, It's all tangled!" Sokka said.

"Not tangled, woven!" Aang replied, turning towards Katara. "I thought that since you lost your necklace, you could use a new one."

"Great to know that you're wasting our precious fishing line," Rin said, trying to snatch the necklace away and turn it back into proper fishing line.

"Don't be so stingy, Rin!" Katara said, taking the necklace before Rin could get to it.  
>We can do without a little fishing line. And thank you Aang, it looks great."<p>

"You've got to be kidding me... you need to be a little more serious, Avatar!" Rin shouted, turning to Aang to lecture him. "That fishing line would have gotten us at least a week's worth of dinner, and you just waste it on a useless necklace!"

"Don't talk to Aang like that! He's just trying to be nice!" Katara said, placing herself between Rin and Aang.

"Niceness won't fill up your stomach, but a fish will," Rin replied.

"Calm down, Rin," Aang said. "We can always get more fishing line at the next town."

"I know, but we're pretty much broke, and when I see you wasting the fishing line, it's just... I just can't stand it. How can you take on the responsibility of saving the world if you can't take on the responsibility of making sure this group gets dinner?" Rin asked, sitting down on a log.

"Well, if we're lucky, people sometimes give us stuff, since I'm the Avatar. Besides, we've been looking after ourselves for a while now. We should be fine," Aang said, pointing towards the river. Rin turned to see Sokka, who was standing in the middle of the water, holding the green fish in his arms. However, the fish immediately jumped out of his arms and smacked him in the face with its tail before falling back down into the river, leaving Sokka empty handed.

"See, now if we had the fishing line..." Rin mumbled. Suddenly, the group heard a roar from nearby. Aang jumped onto a tall rock and looked around, trying to spot the source of the sound.

"There's someone being attacked by a platypus bear!" he called, pointing downriver. As they ran, Rin saw a large, angry platypus bear swinging at a man, who was calmly dodging the heavy blows from the animal.

"Hello there! It's a nice day today, isn't it?" the man said calmly as the group came closer. Aang, Katara, and Sokka started shouting advice to him, while Rin tried to sneak up behind the creature, hatchet ready in her hand.

_The tail should be pretty sensitive,_ Rin thought, preparing to attack the platypus bear from behind. As it took another swing at the man, she struck, sinking her hatchet into the platypus bear's tail. The creature roared with pain as Rin pulled the hatchet out, causing blood to drip from the end of the blade. However, when she tried to retreat back, the platypus bear smacked her with a powerful backhand blow, knocking her into a nearby tree.

"Rin!" Aang shouted, jumping in front of the platypus bear and pushing it back with a blast of air.

"I'm okay!" Rin shouted back. The platypus bear let out another roar, only to be out-roared by Appa, who had just arrived behind the creature. The platypus bear, startled and frightened by the larger creature that just appeared behind it, fled into the river and swam away. As Rin got up, Aang and Sokka ran up to her with looks of concern on their faces, while Katara attended to the man they had saved.

"Are you sure you're okay? You just got hit full-on by a platypus bear," Sokka asked.

"It might bruise later, but I'm fine. Just a little winded," Rin assured, dusting herself off.

"So you get hit with enough force to shred a tree, and you only get a few bruises? Are you sure you're not wearing any armor, because that's kinda odd," Katara said, walking over with the man. Rin looked past them and saw a large chunk taken out of a tree where the platypus bear was attacking the man.

"Look, I don't know why I'm not hurt, maybe it just didn't hit me as hard as it could have. It doesn't really matter," Rin replied. "Is the guy okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you. To be honest, you did not have to intervene. Everything was under control," the man said.

"Your were about to be mauled by a platypus bear! How is that under control?" Sokka asked.

"Aunt Wu predicted that I would have a safe journey," the man replied, grabbing Rin's attention.

"Aunt Wu? You mean Aunt Wu, the fortuneteller?" Rin asked, causing the man's face to light up.

"Ah, I see her reputation has spread from beyond the village. You should pay her a visit. It's nice to know your fortune," the man said.

"Wow, knowing your future... that's why you were so calm, since you knew that you wouldn't be hurt!" Katara exclaimed.

"But the fortuneteller was wrong!" Sokka argued. "If it wasn't for us, he would have been killed!"

"But I wasn't," the man replied with a grin on his face. "Well, I must be going now. Oh, and Aunt Wu told me to give this to any travelers I see."

The man walked off past the group, leaving Aang with a long, thin package. He started tearing through it, eager to find out what was inside.

"Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes," Katara suggested.

"Come on, fortune telling is just crazy nonsense. There's no way someone could tell the future," Sokka said, just as Aang finished tearing through the package, leaving a small, extendable umbrella.

"Hey, it's an umbrella!" Aang said, just before a clap of thunder roared from the sky and gray clouds rolled overhead. Rain started to pour down, and everyone but Sokka huddled underneath the umbrella.

"I guess that proves it," Katara said.

"No it doesn't, those clouds have been there all day," Sokka argued. "And Rin, don't tell me you believe in it too!"

"I'd prefer that fortune telling wasn't real, but I choose to believe rather than get wet. Suck up your pride and get under the umbrella," Rin said. Sokka merely grumbled and walked beside them, drenched by the rain, as they headed to the village.

* * *

><p>"So, how did you meet Aunt Wu?" Aang asked. They were almost to the village, and the rain had stopped, though the skies were still cloudy.<p>

"Eh, I think I came through this village some time ago, though I don't remember much about it. We met, we talked, then I left, and that's about it," Rin answered.

"So, does she really tell the future? Or is she just a big scam?" Sokka asked.

"Well, she did tell me my future... though I'm not sure if she was right or not. I'd rather not talk about it," Rin said as the group approached the entrance to the town, walking under a large wooden gate. A few turkey ducks waddled beside them, quacking.

"Well, looks like we found our lunch," Rin said, drawing her hatchet out of her bag. However, before she could leap onto the birds, Aang shooed them away.

"Hey, why'd you do that?" Rin asked. "I was about to get us a meal! What's with you and preventing us from getting food?"

"First of all, I don't eat meat. Secondly, that creature has a life, just like all of us. I can't let you kill it just so you could get a meal. Life, in all forms, is sacred," Aang explained.

"I can't believe you, Avatar!" Rin shouted, descending into a rant against Aang. "That's how life works! Are you going to refuse to kill every creature, no matter what? Even if you're starving, and there's a fresh, plump turkey duck in front of you? Even when you're in a fight to the death, and the only way out is to kill or be killed? That naive philosophy is going to come back to bite you one day, you know!"

"Woah, Rin! Calm down! Aang's just a kid, you're being too harsh on him," Sokka said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Well, this kid is the Avatar! He's gotta beat the Fire Nation, and frankly, I don't see how he can do that with this sort of mindset!" Rin shouted, pointing down towards Aang as he drew backwards.

"I knew bringing you into the group was a bad idea," Katara mumbled, just loud enough so Rin could hear her.

"Hey, I'm teaching this kid a valuable lesson here!" Rin said, walking up to confront Katara before being pulled back by Sokka.

"Rin, you need to calm down. Even if you're right, shouting and fighting won't get us anywhere," Sokka said. Rin took a deep breath, sighed, and nodded, continuing on into the village. The rest of the group followed, with everyone keeping their distance from Rin except for Sokka, who walked up beside Rin.

"You should probably apologize to them," Sokka suggested.

"Why?" Rin asked.

"Well, I think your rant kinda, well... let's put it this way. You just yelled at Aang, and I think he's kinda afraid of you now," Sokka explained.

"And?" Rin asked.

"And Katara, from what I've seen, cares for Aang. I don't think either of them like you now, and if you're going to be in the group, we should probably get along. Maybe if you apologize, everything will be better?" Sokka suggested.

"I'll apologize when they fix themselves up," Rin growled, turning away from Sokka to cut off any further conversation. Eventually, they reached the building which Rin recognized as Aunt Wu's. The group gathered at the door, where they were greeted by a strange man.

"Aunt Wu is expecting you," he said, opening the door for the group. They entered into a small waiting room where they were greeted by a small girl in a pink kimono.

"Hello! My name is Meng, and I'm Aunt Wu's assistant," she said, before her gaze landed on Aang. She fixed her eyes on Aang for a few moments, then motioned the group to sit down on a row of large pillows off to the side.

"So, would you like to have some tea, or maybe some bean curd puffs?" She asked, stooping down in front of Aang.

"I'll have a bean curd puff," Sokka said, but it was obvious that Meng didn't hear him, as she was looking at Aang intently.

"So, what's your name?" She asked.

"Aang," he replied, looking around in disinterest.

"Oh, that rhymes with Meng!" She said. By then, Rin had tuned out her high-pitched voice. As Meng finished talking with Aang, she went to a back room to fetch food for the group. She came back with a tray with steaming cups of tea and a large bowl of curd puffs, to Sokka's delight. As Sokka started to eat, an old lady in yellow robes came out to greet them.

"Hello, I'm Aunt Wu! So, who's ready to see their future?" She asked, scanning over the group. When her eyes fell onto Rin, they widened.

"I remember you... we must talk afterwards. Now, who's first? Don't be shy," Aunt Wu said.

"I'll go," Katara replied, standing up and following Aunt Wu into her room. The rest of the group waited behind, Sokka munching on curd puffs as Aang fidgeted in his seat, looking nervously at Rin, who was sitting beside him.

"Uh, I think I need to go to the bathroom," Aang stated, running off into one of the hallways next to Aunt Wu's room.

"Look, now you've scared him off," Sokka said. "I think he's afraid of you."

"It's not my fault. I just told him what I thought about him," Rin replied.

"Maybe, but you didn't have to do it so harshly," Sokka said, scraping the bottom of the bowl for more curd puffs. Rin noticed that Sokka hadn't touched the tea yet, as the cups were still full.

"Pass me some tea, will you?" She asked. Sokka handed her a cup and, after blowing the top of the cup to cool the liquid down, started slowly sipping the tea.

"I didn't see you as the type to drink tea," Sokka said.

"It helps me calm myself down. I'll admit, I was pretty bad out there, though I still stand by my point," Rin replied as Aang strolled back into the waiting room with a wide smile on his face.

"Someone had a pleasant trip to the bathroom," Sokka commented upon seeing Aang's grin.

"Yeah, well, when I was in there-" Aang said, trying to explain himself, before being cut off by a disgusted look from Sokka.

"Just sit down," Rin said, as Katara came out with Aunt Wu.

"So, who's next?" The old lady asked.

"Let's get this over with," Sokka grumbled, getting up before being stopped by Aunt Wu.

"Your future is full of struggle and anguish; mostly self-inflicted," she said.

"B-but you didn't read my palms or anything like that!" Sokka argued.

"I didn't need to. It's written all over your face. Now come, boy," Wu replied, taking Aang into the other room. Katara glared at Rin for a moment before passing by her, sitting next to Sokka. The room was quiet, but Rin felt tension between herself and Katara.

_I don't think we're ever going to get along if she continues like this,_ Rin thought before noticing a puff of smoke drift out of the doorway Aang and Aunt Wu had gone through.

"I'm going to go check on them," Rin said, putting down her tea and standing up.

"Wait, why?" Katara asked.

"Nothing much, I just saw a bit of smoke and I wanna see if they're okay," Rin explained, heading over to the door. Looking into the room, she saw Aunt Wu and Rin sitting around a fire, with bone fragments scattered all around the floor. The old lady seemed to be reading one of the fragments.

"... and you will be with the one you love," Aunt Wu finished saying, putting down the bone fragment.

"Really? That's great!" Aang shouted gleefully, before turning to the exit and noticing Rin.

"Is everything okay in here?" Rin asked.

"Yup, why do you ask?" Aang replied.

"I just saw some smoke, and I came to see if you were fine," Rin explained.

"That was just part of the fortune telling. Speaking of that, it's your turn now," Aang said, before rushing past Rin. After he had gone back to the others, Rin closed the door behind her and sat down with Aunt Wu.

"It's been a long time," Aunt Wu said, scanning Rin with her eyes.

"It has. So, what happened with the Avatar's fortune?" Rin asked.

"You would not believe it. The bone cracked and exploded into a hundred pieces..." Aunt Wu explained.

"Wow. That kid's going somewhere, huh?" Rin said, digging through her bag.

"He is... but enough small chat. I'm surprised that you're still alive," Aunt Wu said.

"It seems like your prediction was wrong," Rin replied with a smirk.

"Maybe so. It would be the only time the bones have ever lied to me. So, do you still have it?" Aunt Wu asked.

"Here it is," Rin said, pulling a scorched bone out of her bag.

* * *

><p><strong>Four years ago<strong>

Rin climbed through the window frame and fell inside, grunting as she hit the hardwood floor. A loud growling noise came from inside of her, once again reminding Rin that her stomach was painfully empty. The last meal she had eaten was a loaf of bread, donated by a sympathetic man who had seen her sitting on the side of the road. That was two days ago. If she didn't eat soon, she would starve.

Using the light from the moon outside, Rin searched around the room, looking for food. After finding nothing, she slipped out into the hallway, slowly making her way through the building. Dim oil lamps were placed along the walls, giving off enough light for Rin to make sure that there was no one else in the hallway. As she passed by one of the rooms, a glint out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Rin turned and saw a half finished bowl of bean curd puffs turned on its side, with most of the food scattered on the floor. However, Rin didn't care about the state of the food - it was food, and she wanted it.

Rin scrambled over to the bowl, squatting down and shoveling the bean curd puffs into her mouth. They were stale, and she could taste dust that had accumulated on the puffs, but she didn't care. Rin rejoiced as her stomach filled up, relieving her of the constant pain in her abdomen as she continued to scarf down the bean curd puffs.

"I had a feeling I would get a visitor tonight... but I didn't think it would be like this."

Rin froze as she heard the voice behind her, dropping the curd puff in her hand. Slowly turning around, she saw an old lady standing over her, carrying a lantern in her hand. Rin scurried backed away from the woman's gaze, frantically looking around for an escape route.

"You may continue eating, if you want," the woman said, sighing.

"Really?" Rin asked, eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes. Go ahead," the woman replied. Rin's eyes lightened up, and she crawled back over to the bean curd puffs to continue eating. The old lady sat down a few feet away, watching Rin as she ate.

"Thank you for your kindness," Rin said as she finished eating, sitting down in front of the old lady.

"You're welcome, child. You must have been starving, judging by the way you ate. How did you get like this?" the woman asked.

"To be honest, I'm not sure," Rin replied, recalling the past few days in her head. "I've been wandering around, trying to survive but... it's just so hard. I've been starving for the past week."

"Life is like that," the woman said, nodding her head. "Where is your family? Shouldn't they be with you?"

"I don't have a family. Well at least, I don't think I do. I don't remember much of anything right now, and that's why I've been wandering around. I have no idea where I came from, or what my life was like before. All I remember was waking up sometime during the last moon..." Rin explained.

"I see. While I cannot help you find your past, I may be able to help you look towards the future. What is your name?" the woman asked.

"It's Rin," Rin replied. The name was actually a fairly common name that she heard during her travels, so Rin decided to take it as her own, as she didn't know what her actual name was. It was one of the many mysteries of whatever forgotten past she may have had.

"Hello, Rin," the lady said, standing up and holding her hand out towards the girl. "I'm Aunt Wu, and I'm the fortune teller for this village. I had a feeling that someone would arrive tonight who needed my assistance. Come with me and let us look towards your future."

Rin took Aunt Wu's hand, and the older lady led her into a larger room. A fire was lit in the middle of the room, accompanied by a plate stacked high with bones.

"The bones are my most reliable method of fortune telling," Aunt Wu explained. "Throw one into the fire, and through the cracks, the spirits will tell me your destiny."

As the two kneeled down by the fire, Rin took a bone from the middle of the pile and threw it into the fire. Despite the intense heat, the bone refused to crack as it sat in the flames. Aunt Wu gasped as she observed the bone.

"Is there something wrong?" Rin asked.

"Yes... this is odd. The bone always cracks..." Aunt Wu muttered, leaning in closer to study the bone. The two sat in silence for a few minutes as the fire raged on, with the bone still completely intact.

"The spirits have never told me this before," Aunt Wu muttered as she put out the fire using a pail of water, leaving the two in the dim glow of a lantern.

"What is it? Did you see my future?" Rin asked, anxious for an answer.

"I think I did... or perhaps your lack of a future," Aunt Wu said. Rin tilted her head to the side, confused about what the old lady meant.

"What do you mean?" Rin asked.

"Normally, when someone throws a bone into the fire, a spirit creates cracks to show the destiny of the person, or their paths towards the future. But in your case, there were no cracks," Aunt Wu explained.

"So, if I have no cracks in the bone, what does that mean?" Rin asked skeptically.

"In the best scenario, this would most likely be a fluke. However, if worst comes to worst... you will die soon. The spirits may not be showing you your path to the future because, well, you have no future," Aunt Wu explained. Rin took a second to register this into her mind.

"That's troubling... but to tell you the truth, I don't think I'll die just because some spirit thinks that I have no destiny. Thank you for feeding me and showing me this," Rin said, bowing towards Aunt Wu before getting up and heading to the exit.

"Wait!" Aunt Wu called, causing Rin to stop and turn around. The old lady went over to the fire and plucked out the bone, which was covered in scorch marks, taking it over to Rin.

"If you do live, keep this. If you ever come back, we will see if your destiny has changed," Aunt Wu said, handing Rin the scorched bone. The girl simply smiled at the older woman before going out the door and walking back into the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

"So you did keep it after all this time," Aunt Wu commented, rubbing her chin.

"Well, I just stuck it into the bottom of my bag and it's been there ever since," Rin explained. "What animal did you get this from, anyways? You seem to have a lot of bones, so you must be getting them from somewhere."

"It's mostly just the leftover bones from after the villagers eat their livestock. No one else has any use for them, so I take them for my fortune telling," Aunt Wu explained. "Now go on and throw your bone into the fire. Let's see if your destiny has changed."

Rin threw the scorched bone back into the fire where she had thrown it three years ago. The two leaned closer to see if there were any cracks forming in the bone, but once again, it lay perfectly still, its surface remaining whole and unsplit.

"So it wasn't a fluke," Aunt Wu muttered. "But if you're alive now..."

"Maybe it's just this specific bone that's the problem?" Rin suggested, reaching out towards the plate of bones before being stopped by Aunt Wu.

"No. The bone is merely a blank template for the spirits to show your fortune. I can't think of any explanation though..." Aunt Wu replied.

Rin sighed, then got up and started walking over to the exit. "Who knows, maybe the spirits just hate me or something," Rin joked. "Well, I don't think I'll be able to get anything else here, so I'll be going now. Can't keep the group waiting forever."

"It's not wise to take the spirits lightly," Aunt Wu called after her as Rin walked out the door and back into the waiting room, which was now barren.

_Great, just go and leave without me,_ Rin thought, grumbling and heading outside. The rest of the group were walking further down the street, arguing about something that Rin couldn't hear. Out of the blue, Sokka kicked a small rock into the air, which bounced off of a hanging sign and hit him right back in the head, knocking the boy down. Rin covered her mouth, stifling a giggle after witnessing Sokka's misfortune.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Sokka shouted from the ground as Rin joined in with the rest of the group.

"So, are we just going to stand around here all day?" Rin asked. "Where are we going?"

"Well, I thought we could go get lunch somewhere," Aang suggested.

"You mean that lunch I could have caught if you hadn't gotten in the way?" Rin reminded Aang, who cringed away from her.

"Hey, it's not Aang's fault!" Katara shouted. "He just wanted to protect a life that was in danger!"

"I don't think you understand how nature works," Rin argued. "In the real world, everyone fights to survive, and lives disappear every day. That turkey duck that the Avatar protected is probably going to be eaten by some other animal anyways, so what's the point of keeping it alive?"

"Hey, let's not talk about this right now," Sokka interrupted. "We should just find a place to eat."

"Fine," Rin grumbled, as the group started walking down the street again.

* * *

><p>The group was sitting on the side of the street, sharing a loaf of bread they managed to buy with a couple of coins Rin found at the bottom of her bag. Aang and Katara once again distanced themselves away from Rin, who was eating with Sokka.<p>

"I don't think that kid is cut out to be the Avatar," Rin said, catching Sokka's attention.

"What? Why not?" Sokka asked, stuffing a piece of bread in his mouth.

"Well, he hasn't really been too impressive. He accidentally knocks me off of a cliff, and when I wake up, he's naive enough to trust me to not steal his stuff," Rin explained. "Don't take it the wrong way though. I'm a part of the group now, so I probably won't take any of your stuff."

"We don't really have anything to take, anyways," Sokka replied.

"True, though your boomerang and the Avatar's staff are tempting. Anyways, in the same day, you and your sister get sick and the Avatar gets captured. If I hadn't been there, it would have been over for your little group. And now, he's naive enough to prevent us from hunting just so a few animals can live for a couple more days. I can't see why you aren't mad at him, seeing that all you eat at the south pole is meat," Rin explained.

"Well, Rin," Sokka started, before sighing. "I can't really deny what you said, but Katara and I have traveled with Aang for a decent amount of time, and I can say that if he needs to take responsibility, he will. Believe me, he's done it before."

"I'll have to see it myself," Rin said, finishing up her meager lunch. She noticed a crowd of townsfolk gathered in the plaza in front of Aunt Wu's house and stood up, walking over towards the crowd.

"Hey, where are you going?" Sokka asked.

"To find out what everyone's doing over there," Rin answered. Sokka got up and joined her, with Katara and Aang following close behind. As they got closer, Rin saw that everyone was looking up at the sky, as if waiting for something.

"What's up with the sky?" Katara asked one of the villagers.

"We're waiting for Aunt Wu to come out and read the clouds," the villager replied. "She will predict the fate of the whole village."

"The cloud reading will tell us if Mt. Makapu will stay dormant for another year, or if it will erupt," another villager explained.

"We used to have a tradition of sending someone to the top of the mountain every year to check the volcano," the first villager said. "But ever since Aunt Wu moved in 20 years ago, we've had a tradition of not doing that."

"I can't believe you would trust your lives with that crazy old woman and her superstitions!" Sokka shouted, before being shushed by his sister.

"She's coming!" Katara warned as Aunt Wu came up behind the crowd. The townsfolk cheered, opening a path through the middle of the crowd. Aunt Wu walked through the middle of the crowd and up to an elevated shrine. She took out a small handbook and looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath.

"Bending arrow cloud..." Aunt Wu muttered, looking back down at the handbook. "Good crops this year. A great harvest."

The townsfolk cheered, but were silenced as Aunt Wu looked back up at the sky. "Half moon cloud... a great year for twins," she said.

"How long is this going to take?" Sokka asked one of the townsfolk.

"Be quiet," the man whispered, hushing the boy. "The most important reading is about to come."

"A cumulus cloud with a twisty lump coming off the end..." Aunt Wu mumbled, as the crowd became completely silent in anticipation of her next reading. Rin swore that if she breathed, everyone in the village would be able to hear it. The only sound was the breeze blowing over the plaza.

"The village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year!" Aunt Wu finally proclaimed. The crowd cheered, confident in the fortune teller's readings.

"I can't believe these guys are trusting their village to this old lady," Sokka muttered.

"I agree," Rin replied. "I mean, I appreciated her readings back when we visited her, but leaving the fate village to the clouds just seems stupid."

"I guess we're the only ones who think that," Sokka said, looking over the rest of the village. Rin noticed Aang trying to talk to Katara, but it seemed that neither of the girls could hear him over the cheering crowd, as Katara ignored him and ran off towards Aunt Wu's house.

"So, what now?" Rin asked, before seeing Sokka caught up in an argument with a man who was wearing an ugly pair of red shoes. After a few seconds of arguing, the man walked off with a happy smile, while Sokka was screaming with frustration.

"I swear, there's got to be someone in this town with a lick of sense!" Sokka shouted, as he and Rin started walking down the street.

* * *

><p>"I don't care what she told you, you have to take a bath sometime!"<p>

Sokka groaned as the filthy old man simply gave him a grin and walked off. Rin gave a small chuckle at Sokka's futile efforts to bring reason to the village, though it did hurt her inside to see these people living so illogically. As Sokka sat on the ground, defeated, Rin looked up towards Mt. Makapu.

"You know, I don't think it's safe for this village to rely just on cloud readings. I'm going to go up and see the volcano for myself," Rin decided, heading towards the edge of the village.

"Well, I guess if it gives me an opportunity to prove these people wrong, I'm all for it," Sokka said, standing up and following Rin. As they followed the path out of the village and up the mountain, the forest quickly turned into rocky, mountainous terrain. Rin and Sokka started climbing up the steep slope of the volcano, scaling boulder after boulder and slowly making their way up to the top.

"Hey, is that Aang?" Sokka asked, prompting Rin to turn around and look down the mountain. Aang was quickly making his way up, using his airbending to jump from boulder to boulder.

"Oh, hey guys!" Aang called to the Rin and Sokka as he land next to them.

"What are you doing up here?" Sokka asked.

"I'm trying to find a panda lily," Aang explained. "I saw one in action and boy, does it work."

"What's he talking about?" Sokka asked Rin as Aang jumped further up the mountain.

"Well, I overheard some girl back in the village saying that she'll receive a panda lily from her lover, so it's probably some sort of flower that they use to confess love. It seems that the Avatar has his eyes on someone," Rin suggested.

"Eh, he's a kid. I'm sure he'll get over it," Sokka replied. As they neared the top, Rin saw Aang at the rim of the volcano, sniffing a black and white flower. Suddenly, he looked out over the rim and froze.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Rin asked, climbing up behind Aang. As she got to the top, she saw what Aang had caused Aang to freeze. Lava was steadily filling the crater within the volcano, and seemed like it was about to erupt.

"Oh no!" Aang gasped, accidentally dropping the panda lily into the lava.

"Well, that proves it," Rin muttered. "Aunt Wu was wrong, and the townsfolk are stupid."

"The village is in danger! We've got to get down there and warn them!" Sokka shouted.

"There's no time to walk!" Aang replied, grabbing onto Rin and Sokka. "Sokka, get on my back. Rin, grab onto my legs. We're flying to the village!"

Rin and Sokka obeyed Aang's instructions, grabbing onto him and holding on tight as he unfolded his glider and jumped off the mountain. After a short and terrifying flight, they landed in front of Aunt Wu's house, where Katara was waiting.

"Can you believe she won't let me in after all the business I gave her?" Katara complained, turning towards the group.

"She doesn't even charge," Aang pointed out.

"I know, but still..." Katara muttered.

"It doesn't matter now. What's important is that the village is in danger. Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano," Sokka explained.

"Look Sokka, I know you don't believe in Aunt Wu's fortunes. It's going to take a lot to convince me-"

**BOOOOOOOOOM**

In the middle of Katara's sentence the mountain suddenly exploded, spewing ash into the air. A large cloud of billowing smoke started rising from the top of the mountain.

"Did that convince you?" Rin asked.

"Come on! We've got to tell the townspeople about this!" Aang shouted. The group ran off into the plaza, where people were milling around, unfazed by the explosion that happened just a few moments ago.

"Everyone! Aunt Wu was wrong! The volcano is going to erupt any minute now!" Sokka shouted at the gathering crowd. Despite his desperate warnings, Rin saw looks of amusement and relaxation on people's faces.

"Yeah, we know you don't believe in Aunt Wu, Mr. Science and Reason lover," one of the townsfolk called out. Frustrated, Katara went out in front of the crowd.

"I want to believe in Aunt Wu as much as you do, but my friends saw the lava with their own eyes. You have to believe us," she said.

"Well, I heard Aunt Wu's prediction with my own ears," someone shouted. Aang shouted in frustration and jumped to one of the rooftops.

"Listen to us! You're all in danger, and you have to evacuate! You can't just rely on Aunt Wu's prediction! You need to take fate into your own hands!" Aang shouted, standing above the crowd, which was still unconvinced.

"Can your fortune telling explain that?" Sokka asked, pointing towards the smoke above the mountain.

"Can your science explains why it rains?" one of the townspeople asked back, causing Rin to facepalm. The crowd started to disperse, uninterested in what the group had to say. Aang jumped down from the roof and joined up with the others as they discussed what to do.

"I swear, I'm getting stupider just by being around these people," Rin muttered.

"It doesn't look like they'll listen to reason," Katara said.

"But they will listen to Aunt Wu!" Aang replied, his face lit up.

"That's the problem we're having right now," Sokka said.

"It's about to become the solution. We'll take fate into our own hands. First, I'll need to borrow Aunt Wu's cloud reading book," Aang explained. Gradually, everyone in the group turned their heads towards Rin.

"Figures that you would have me do this," Rin sighed as the group headed over to Aunt Wu's house. Once they got their, Rin started giving orders.

"You and you," Rin said, pointing towards the water tribe siblings. "Take guard. Make sure nobody comes in. Avatar, give me a boost so I can get to the roof."

"It would be better if you called us by our actual names," Katara said.

"Again, bad with names. I'll learn them in a few days. Probably," Rin replied. Aang used a blast of air to propel Rin to the roof, where she landed and looked back down.

"Come on up," Rin told Aang, who launched himself to the roof with his own blast of air. Together they climbed up to a hole in the roof, directly above the fire pit where people would throw their bones. Smoke was still rising up from the chimney, but it wasn't too much.

"Grab onto me and lower us down gently," Rin ordered. Aang complied, holding Rin by her arms and slowly lowering the two to the floor. After a quick look around to make sure that nobody was there, Rin and Katara started looking for the cloud book, digging through drawers and pots.

_It's probably here somewhere,_ Rin thought, going through a bunch of scolls before turning up empty. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching the room.

"Hide!" Rin whispered, ducking behind a large pot in the corner of the room. However, it seemed that Aang didn't hear him, as he continued looking through a drawer. Meng opened the door and, upon seen Aang, walked up behind him.

_You idiot,_ Rin thought, watching Aang get caught by the pink-clothed girl. However, instead of being kicked out, Aang simply talked with the girl. Rin wasn't close enough to hear them, but she realized that Aang wouldn't be forced to leave. After the girl left, Rin popped out from behind the pot.

"You're lucky, you know that? When I get caught, it usually means either escaping or getting handed over to the local police," Rin said.

"Well, I guess people are nicer when it's the Avatar taking their stuff. Look what I got!" Aang replied, holding up Aunt Wu's cloud book.

"Great. Let's head back outside," Rin ordered, as Aang pulled her up and out of the house.

* * *

><p>Rin watched as the clouds moved, seemingly with a mind of their own. Slowly, a shape started forming, growing more detailed by the second.<p>

_I guess it's time,_ Rin thought, knocking on Aunt Wu's door. The old lady opened up, a tired look on her face.

"What is it?" she asked as Rin put on a look of mock distress.

"The clouds! They're forming something!" Rin shouted, trying to sound worried.

"They are? I must get my cloud book!" Aunt Wu replied, trying to head back in. However, Rin grabbed onto her arm and pulled her into the plaza.

"There's no time! Look, look!" Rin said, pointing up towards the clouds. By now, the rest of the group had finished bending the clouds, forming a giant skull in the sky.

"Oh my!" Aunt Wu cried, catching the attention of the townspeople. "Volcanic Doom!"

"If we act fast, we can still save the village!" Aang shouted as he flew down with the rest of the group. "Sokka has a plan!"

"Lava will flow down here to this spot," Sokka explained to the growing crowd of townspeople. "If we build a trench that's deep enough, we can divert the lava around the village and into the river. Earthbenders go with Aang, and everyone else who can dig should grab a shovel."

As the townspeople started mobilizing, Rin grabbed a shovel and headed over to the dig site. Soon, the townspeople managed to dig a fairly deep trench around the village just as the volcano exploded once more. Lava was starting to flow down the mountain.

"Everyone, you need to evacuate! We'll call you when it's safe!" Aang shouted, causing the townspeople to flee across the river. The group gathered in front of the village gates, where the lava would flow down and into the trench.

"Why are we standing directly in front of the lava flow?" Rin asked.

"I'm confident that the ditch will be enough to stop the lava. Even if it doesn't, we still have the Avatar," Sokka explained.

"Right, because he's so reliable," Rin said, adding a bit of sarcasm with her voice. The group fell into silence as the lava flowed down the mountain, destroying trees, structures, and everything else in it's path. Finally, it reached the ditch, which immediately started filling up.

"It's too much! We're going to overflow!" Katara shouted, just as another explosion rocked the mountain. Looking up, Rin saw a burst of rocks lava shoot up from the top of the volcano. One of the rocks landed in the lava near the village, causing a wave to surge towards the group.

_That's it, I'm outta here_, Rin thought as she started running back through the village, followed by Katara and Sokka. However, as she realized that Aang wasn't with them, Rin looked back and saw him fighting the lava with bursts of air, trying to keep the fiery liquid at bay.

"Avatar, If you want to live, you need to retreat!" Rin shouted, but Aang didn't heed her words. Instead, he stood his ground, blowing an intense gust of wind just as the wave of hot lava surged over the ditch. The two forces collided, and the lava cooled instantly, forming a tall wall of volcanic rock that extended to both sides of the village.

"Wow," Rin whispered. This would be one of the first times she had been awestruck by anything.

"That kid is one powerful bender," Sokka commented, looking up at Aang.

"What?" Katara asked, getting a confused look from Sokka.

"Nothing, I just said that Aang's a powerful bender," Sokka replied as a look of realization came over Katara's face.

"I suppose he is," Katara muttered, looking up at Aang. The three stood there, looking up at the Avatar as gray ash stopped floating down from the volcano. The eruption was over.

* * *

><p>"I kind of borrowed your cloud book," Aang said sheepishly as Aunt Wu took the book back.<p>

"So you messed with the clouds, eh?" Aunt Wu snapped, before reverting to a satisfied grin. "Very clever."

"No offense, but I hope this taught a valuable to all of you. You can't just rely on fortune telling all the time," Sokka said to the townspeople.

"But Aunt Wu said that the village would survive, and it did," one of the townsfolk commented. Sokka gritted his teeth and approached the man, but Rin stepped in front of him.

"Let me handle this," she whispered to Sokka before turning to the man. "You only survived because you took matters into your own hands. If we weren't here, you wouldn't have been prepared for the eruption, and you would be under ten feet of rock right now. Remember that."

As the man contemplated what Rin had just told him, Aang finished up talking with Aunt Wu. The group climbed onto Appa and waved goodbye to the village before setting off into the sky.

"Aang, I think I have to apologize," Rin said as they leveled out.

"Hm? For what?" Aang asked.

"For not thinking you were right to be the Avatar," Rin explained. "I thought you were irresponsible and naive. You got captured by the Fire Nation, you refused to kill animals, and you made useless trinkets with precious resources. Now don't get me wrong: I still don't think you're right in those two aspects. But after seeing you help the village with the volcano, along with that impressive display of bending, I felt like you would be able to handle being the Avatar. So for doubting you, I apologize."

"Don't worry about it," Aang replied. "You were just trying to do what was best for the group, though you were pretty harsh in doing it."

"Glad you managed to do that," Sokka said. "So where are we going now?"

"To the north pole!" Aang shouted, grinning from ear to ear.

"That's a long way off..." Rin mumbled, but regardless, they flew north, awaiting the adventures to come.

* * *

><p><strong>I would appreciate it if you would leave a quick review on your way out. Thank you, and have a nice day.<strong>


	5. Bato of the Water Tribe

**A/N: If you haven't noticed, this fic updated but still only has 5 chapters. Why? Well, after reading the first chapter (and looking at viewer statistics), I feel like it's not necessary for the series. It doesn't add anything, it's distanced from the main part of the story, and it's written pretty poorly, not to mention it seems to be weeding out half of the people who view this story. As a result, I have deleted chapter 1 and reworked chapter 2 (now 1) slightly so it works as the first chapter. I am unsure of whether that chapter will still be canon to this story anymore, though it probably won't.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Bato of the Water Tribe<p>

"So, why are we going through this forest when we have an air bison that will just carry us to the north pole?"

"It's a lot of work carrying four people, Rin. Appa needs his breaks."

The group was walking through the forest, following Aang as he raced ahead of everyone else. They were heading in the direction of the north pole - not that it mattered, as most of their distance came from Appa, who was apparently too tired to fly right now. As they marched on through the trees, Rin felt a cool breeze flow over her cheeks.

"I think we're close to the ocean," Rin observed as Aang jumped down a small ledge up ahead. He bent down and picked up what seemed to be a curved sword. The handle was blue, and the blade was chipped and jagged.

"Look! A sword made out of a whales tooth!" Aang exclaimed, holding it up in front of the rest of the group.

"Let me see that," Sokka said, grabbing the sword from Aang and turning it over in his palm, observing it for a few seconds.

"This is a water tribe weapon. Search around and see if there's anything else," Sokka ordered. Aang started rummaging through bushes, while Sokka searched the ground, eventually finding a stone-tipped arrow under a small pile of leaves.

"It's burnt," Sokka muttered. He ran over to a damaged tree off to the side and moved his hand over it, feeling the scorch marks and cuts in the bark. "There was a battle. Water tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders and drove them down this hill."

Sokka took off down the hill, with the rest of the group following behind him. They reached a beach, where Sokka stopped and stood still.

"So, then what happened?" Rin asked.

"I don't know," Sokka answered, looking down into the sand.

"Hey, look!" Katara shouted, pointing down the beach. The group turned and saw a wooden sailboat sitting on the beach, tied to a large rock next to it. Sokka and Katara ran over to the boat, with Aang and Rin following behind them.

"Is this dad's boat?" Katara asked.

"No, but it's from his fleet," Sokka replied. "He was here."

"Wait, who's your dad? Rin asked, running up next to the two siblings.

"He's chief of the Southern Water Tribe. A few years ago, he left in order to help against the Fire Nation. This is a boat from his fleet," Sokka explained. Aang flew up to the deck and looked around.

"It's deserted, but there's still plenty of stuff here," Aang called down to the group before going down below the deck of the ship.

"We should camp here for the night," Rin suggested. "It's getting dark. I'll go collect some firewood."

"Are you sure? The tide might come in," Sokka asked.

"Eh, just sleep on the ship or something," Rin said, heading back into the forest. She took her hatchet out of her bag then, after a moment of consideration, threw it back in. Most of the trees in this forest were still living, and whatever branches she chopped down would be hard to burn. Instead, she started picking up dead sticks from the ground, congregating them into a pile in her arms. Eventually, as the sun started setting, Rin returned to the beach with her arms full of firewood to see the rest of the group sitting around the boat.

"So, anything happen while I was gone?" Rin asked.

"Katara and I caught some fish for dinner," Sokka said, holding up a few fish by the tail.

"Great. Let me set up the fire, and we'll start cooking," Rin replied, laying down the firewood. She arranged the wood into a teepee shape and shoved a pile of dry leaves into the middle of the formation. Then, she took a pair of spark rocks from her bag, lighting the leaves in the middle of the wood. Soon, a flame was burning happily in the middle of the beach, surrounded by skewered fish.

"Uh... I don't eat meat, remember?" Aang reminded the group, causing Rin to facepalm for the second time that day.

"Errgh... go find something in the woods, there's a lot of plants there," Rin grumbled. Unfortunately, the sun had already set, and the woods were too dark to enter without getting lost. As they sat around the fire, Sokka turned the whale tooth sword over and over in his hand, looking over the blade.

"Hey, if you already have your club, can I have that sword?" Rin asked as Sokka furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Wait, don't you have a weapon already? You threw a couple of knives at us back at the canyon, remember?" Sokka asked.

"Those were just some knives I had at the time. I actually have no idea how to properly throw a knife, and even if I did, your Avatar there blew most of mine down the canyon," Rin explained, pointing towards Aang. "I actually want to sell the sword, it'll get us quite a bit of money."

"What? You can't do that, this sword is part of my tribe! It was hand crafted by one of the warriors from our fleet! You can't just go and sell it!" Sokka protested, holding the sword away from Rin.

"That's exactly why I want to sell it." Rin said. "A hand crafted water tribe sword, made by a great warrior? It'll get a lot of money on the market. Besides, seeing that nobody picked the sword up after the battle, I don't think the owner's alive for us to return it to. Iit would be better to put it to some use rather than leave it laying around."

"Then why don't you use it, if you don't have a weapon?" Sokka asked.

"What? When did I say that?" Rin asked back, pulling out her hatchet and waving it in front of Sokka.

"That thing? Were you a woodcutter before you joined us?" Sokka asked, before leaning forward to observe the hatchet closely. The handle was made of lightly colored polished wood, and was slightly shorter than Rin's arm. The blade was made out of steel, with the body of the blade painted red while the end remained a gleaming silver. The hatchet had a few scratches on the blade but otherwise, it was in good condition.

"No, I just happened to pick it up a while back. It's light, sturdy, and it's useful both as a tool and a weapon," Rin explained.

"Let me see that," Katara demanded, grabbing the hatchet and flipping it over, before inspecting the bottom of the handle. Her eyes widened, and she turned to Rin, this time with a stern look on her face.

"Explain this," Katara asked, pointing to the bottom of the hatchet. Stamped into the wood was the insignia of the Fire Nation, in dark red ink. All eyes immediately turned to Rin.

"Look, it's not what you thi-"

"Then what is it?!" Katara shouted.

"Woah, you wanted me to explain, and I'll explain," Rin said. "I stayed on a Fire Nation ship for a few weeks. That's where I got the hatchet."

"So you were allies with the fire nation!" Katara exclaimed.

"Could you stop assuming the worst of me?!" Rin shouted back, before taking a deep breath and continuing her story. "Anyways, I was hired to work on a small Fire Nation cruiser, mostly as a cabin girl, doing cleaning and stuff like that. I picked up the hatchet on the way out. It's not like I actually fought for the Fire Nation or anything like that."

"But why work for the Fire Nation in the first place?" Sokka asked.

"Because it was the best job I could find at the time," Rin explained. "The pay was decent, and since I was technically part of the crew, I got meals with everyone else."

"So you worked for the Fire Nation just because they paid you well? That's shallow," Katara remarked.

"Hey, it's better to look after yourself before you look after the world," Rin said.

"So why'd you leave then?" Sokka asked.

"It wasn't all good, you know? Pay cuts, bad food, boredom, stuff like that. Not to mention that I was the only person who wasn't from the Fire Nation, and the only girl, so there were obviously problems between me and the crew. Eventually, I decided to quit, and I took this hatchet with me," Rin explained.

"You mean you stole it," Katara muttered.

"Hey, I thought you didn't like the Fire Nation," Rin said. "Stealing from them would be fine, right?"

At that moment, Rin heard a footstep in the sand, far down the beach. She whirled around, trying to find the source of the sound. "Who's there?" Sokka shouted into the darkness, having heard the sound as well. The two stood up and drew their weapons but, as the stranger walked into the firelight, Rin saw that he was unarmed, with tanned skin and a light-blue tunic.

"Sokka?" the stranger asked in surprise, causing the boy's face to light up.

"Bato?" The two water tribe siblings asked back, before running up to the man and hugging him. Rin stood back by the fire, watching them.

"Sokka, Katara! It's so good to see you two! You've grown so much," the man exclaimed, hugging them back. Aang walked up behind the water tribe siblings, bowing towards the man.

"Hi, I'm Aan-"

"Is dad here?" Sokka asked, cutting off Aang's greeting.

"No, his fleet should be in the eastern Earth Kingdom by now," the man explained. A cold wind blew across the beach, causing everyone to shiver.

"This is no place for a reunion. Let's get inside," the man said before he turned around and walked down the beach with Katara and Sokka. After a moment, he looked back and motioned for Aang and Rin to come with them. Aang started walking behind them, but Rin looked back towards the fire and the ship and sighed.

_At least break down camp first,_ Rin thought, taking the still-cooking fish from the flame and throwing sand onto the fire, smothering it until only a few embers were left. After making sure that they hadn't left anything behind, she ran back to catch up with the rest of the group.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes of walking in the cold, Bato led them into an abbey, where nuns were milling around in a large courtyard.<p>

"After I was wounded during a battle, your father carried me here," he explained. "The sisters have cared for me ever since."

Rin looked around the courtyard, noticing that there were many large clay pots scattered around the place. A well was sitting to the side, which meant that the pots probably weren't for water. _So that means there might be something valuable within those pots..._

"Superior!" Bato called to one of the nuns, breaking Rin's thoughts. "These are Hakoda's children. They've been traveling with a few friends, including the Avatar. I found them at my boat."

"Young Avatar, it gives me a great joy to be in your presence. Welcome to our abbey," the nun said, bowing to Aang, who bowed back.

"It's an honor to be here. If there's anything I-"

"What smells so good, Bato?" Sokka asked, cutting Aang off once again.

"The sisters craft ointments and perfume," Bato explained.

_I guess I could take some of that, maybe put it in a small bottle or something..._ Rin thought, looking around at the pots of perfume. _Should be worth some money._

"Perfume? Maybe we can dump some on Appa, since he smells bad. Am I right?" Sokka suggested. An awkward silence ensued, and Rin had to hold herself back from facepalming at Sokka's attempted joke.

"You have your father's wit," Bato said, completely deadpan. He led the group into a firelit room, with a pot cooking over the flame and animal pelts scattered around the floor.

"It looks just like home!" Katara exclaimed.

"Nothing says home like dead animal pelts," Rin heard Aang mutter. As they sat down, Bato lifted the lid from the pot, revealing a steaming vat of stew cooking inside the pot.

"Stewed sea prunes!" Katara exclaimed in delight.

"Dad could eat a barrel of these," Sokka said as Bato gave him a bowl of stew, doing the same with Katara, Aang, and Rin. Aang sniffed the stew and drew his head back in disgust, while Rin scarfed down the entire bowl in a few seconds.

"Can I get some more?" Rin asked, holding out her bowl.

"Of course. It's nice to see someone outside of the tribe enjoy our cooking," Bato said, filling Rin's bowl and handing it back to her. She immediately started eating again, albeit with less speed.

"How can you stand the taste?" Aang whispered to Rin.

"It's a free meal, Avatar. You don't get them often, and when you do, you shouldn't care about the quality. Never look a gift ostrich-horse in the mouth," Rin explained, finishing her second bowl of stewed sea prunes. She put her empty bowl down and stood up, stretching towards the ceiling.

"I'll be out for a bit," Rin told the group, exiting the room and walking through the courtyard, making her way into the forest and towards the beach.

* * *

><p>With a grunt, Rin pulled herself onto the ship, climbing over the railing and into the boat. There, in the middle of the deck, Rin noticed a hatch illuminated by the moonlight, still open from Aang's exploration of the boat. She climbed down into the hull of the ship, where it was completely dark.<p>

_Maybe I could light a torch?_ Rin thought, before realizing that the boat was made completely out of wood. One mistake with fire would cause the ship to turn into a giant, burning coffin. Deciding not to rely on her sense of sight, she felt around with her hands, sweeping the shelves of the ship until she found something. When one of her hands hit something and caused a clinking noise, she grinned. She could recognize that noise anywhere. It was the sound of money.

_There we go,_ Rin thought, taking what seemed to be a bag of coins and throwing it into her bag. She searched further down the hull, but found nothing else other than a few bundles of fruit and meat jerky which she threw into her bag, and a bunch of large barrels that she obviously couldn't carry. Just before she pulled herself back onto the deck she stopped, hearing the hooves of an ostrich horse outside of the ship.

"I'm looking for Bato of the Water Tribe," an unknown voice said.

"Uh, I know Bato!" Rin heard Aang reply.

"Make sure he gets this," the unknown voice ordered. Rin heard the rustling of paper, followed by the retreating hoofbeats of the ostrich horse. As she pulled herself up, she saw Aang facing away, stuffing something into his robes.

"What are you doing here?" Rin asked, causing Aang to jump and turn around.

"Uh, nothing!" Aang replied, startled by Rin's sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh, just taking some stuff from the ship. It isn't as loaded as you said it was earlier, you know?" Rin explained as she climbed up onto the deck.

"Wait, were you stealing from the boat?" Aang asked, pointing accusingly towards the hatch Rin had climbed out from. "That's not your stuff!"

"Well, the guy's not guarding his own ship, so it's fair game for anyone who comes across it," Rin argued, jumping down to the beach. "That includes myself."

"But..."

"Listen, we're still low on money and food. We need this to make it to the north pole, preferably without starving," Rin explained.

"I'm sure that the sisters will give us supplies if we just ask. I'm the Avatar, remember?" Aang said.

"Fine," Rin sighed, taking the stolen items and throwing them to Aang, but not before pocketing the money she picked up from the ship. "But if they don't give us anything, I'm coming back here. It's for the good of the group, you know?"

"We can get along fine without you stealing," Aang muttered before dropping below deck to replace the items Rin had stolen.

"I'm heading back to the abbey now," Rin called to Aang. "Oh, some guy asked you to bring something to that water tribe person, right? I can get it to him once I get back."

"Uh... what are you talking about? What guy?" Aang asked, chuckling nervously.

"I'm not deaf. I heard someone talking to you while I was in the ship," Rin explained.

"Are you sure? Because I didn't see anybody," Aang said, rubbing his head nervously.

"Errgh... never mind," Rin groaned, turning around and walking back down the beach and towards the abbey. Aang didn't seem to be willing to give up whatever the man gave him, and Rin didn't really care anyways. All she wanted to do was go to sleep. The past two days had taken a lot out of her.

* * *

><p>It was the morning after their meeting with Bato, and the water tribe man had gone back to visit the boat along with the group.<p>

"This ship is sentimental to me. It was build by my father," Bato explained. He went about with the history of the boat, but Rin barely paid attention to the man. Instead she observed Aang, who had just blown away a set of ostrich horse tracks from the beach. Looking back at the rest of the group, Rin found that she was the only one who noticed Aang's odd behavior.

_Probably something to do with last night,_ Rin thought, tuning out the conversation between Bato and Sokka. Katara still glared at Rin suspiciously from time to time, but she had gotten used to it. _Hopefully, she'll come to trust me. I can't say I made a very good first impression._

"Hey, what's ice dodging?" Aang asked Bato, dropping into the conversation.

"It's a rite of passage for young boys in our tribe. When you turn fourteen, your dad takes you-" Bato explained before stopping and placing his hand on Sokka's shoulder. "You know what? You're about to find out. Onto the ship, everyone!"

After a few minutes, the group was out sailing near the shore. It was a fairly windy day, allowing the sailboat to maintain a steady speed through the water. While Sokka and Katara helped maintain the boat, Bato explained ice dodging to Rin and Aang.

"Ice dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, courage, and trust," he explained. "In our village, ice dodging involves sailing a boat through a field of icebergs."

"So we're going to be doing ice dodging without any ice?" Rin asked. "How does that work?"

"You'll be dodging those," Bato answered, pointing to a large maze of rocks jutting up from the water next to the shore. The water seemed to rush around the rocks, causing anything unlucky enough to be nearby to crash against the boulders.

"Is it too late to back out of this?" Rin asked. "I don't want to die."

"Relax, you'll be fine," Sokka said, but he too looked nervously at the rocks. In fact, the only one who seemed to be calm was Bato.

"Sokka, you steer and call the shots. Lead wisely," the man said, directing him to the back of the boat.

"Katara, you secure the main sail. The winds can be harsh, so you must be brave," he continued as Katara grabbed the rope connecting to the largest sail on the boat.

"Aang, you control the jib. Without your steady hand, we all go down. Your position is about trust," Bato finished, directing Aang to the sail in the back.

"Trust? Why wouldn't I know about trust? I'm the Avatar, I know all about trust!" Aang said, crossing his arms for a few seconds before taking his position at the jib. Rin noticed that Bato hadn't given her a job, and she didn't want to leave her fate to three people who she had only known for two days, even if one was the Avatar.

"Hey, what do I do?" Rin asked. Bato rubbed his chin for a few seconds, staring off into the ocean, before coming up with something.

"I assume one who uses an air bison to travel would not be experienced with a ship," Bato said. "You will help Aang with the jib."

"So, she's just piggybacking onto Aang's job?" Katara asked as Bato responded with a nod. Rin and Aang grabbed onto the rope to the jib, watching the rocks grow closer.

"Because this is your rite of passage, I cannot help," Bato said, sitting down on the opposite end of the boat. "You will pass or fail on your own."

As the boat neared the rocks, Rin tightly onto the railing, not wanting to be knocked off when the ceremony began. Sokka immediately started calling out commands to the rest of the group. "Aang, Rin, ease up on the jib. Katara, stay there." The group passed by the first set of rocks with relative ease, but were faced by a much more intimidating field of rocks up ahead. Sokka started directing them towards a narrow path in between two tall boulders. "Aang, loosen up on the sail! Katara, give him room! Aang, helm to lee! HELM TO LEE!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Aang shouted back to Sokka.

"He means pull back!" Rin shouted, lightly kicking Aang's shin to get his attention. "Pull back towards the center of the boat!"

As the two pulled back onto the sail, the ship turned it time to narrowly avoid crashing with a giant rock. The group cheered for a moment, before seeing a low wall of rocks directly up ahead.

"There's no way through!" Katara shouted. However, Sokka showed no intentions of stopping the boat.

"Sokka, you've already proven yourself," Bato called from the front of the ship. "There's no need to-"

"We can do it!" Sokka interrupted. "Aang, I'm going to need air in the sails. Katara, bend as much water as you can between us and the rocks. Rin, hold down the jib so we don't stray off course."

The group scrambled to follow Sokka's orders as Katara and Aang started bending their respective elements. Rin held on tight to the jib, which was being assaulted by blasts of air from Aang in an attempt to speed up the ship. After a few seconds, she felt the ship rise, followed by a mighty crash as the boat descended into the calm waters past the rocks.

"I'm glad that's over," Rin muttered as everybody breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

><p>After the group made it back to the beach, Bato ordered them to stand in a line. He went into the boat and got out a bowl of what seemed to be a thick, dark purple paste. As he dipped his fingers into the paste, he said, "The spirits of water bear witness to these marks!"<p>

"For Sokka, the mark of the wise," Bato started, drawing a symbol on Sokka's forehead. "The same mark your father earned.

"For Katara, the mark of the brave," he continued, drawing a crescent on Katara's forehead. "You courage inspires us."

"For Rin and Aang, the mark of the trusted," he finished, moving his finger across Rin's forehead. The mark felt cold and heavy on her face, as if an icicle was hanging from her head. It made her uncomfortable. As Rin resisted the urge to wipe the symbol from her forehead, Bato moved on to draw the same mark onto Aang. "You two are now honorary members of the Southern Water Tribe."

"No, I can't," Aang muttered.

"Of course you can," Katara said.

"You can't trust me," Aang replied, wiping the mark from his head and turning around.

"What are you talking about?" Katara asked, approaching Aang.

"A messenger gave me this to give to Bato," Aang explained, taking a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handing it to Katara, who unfolded it. "You have to understand, I was afraid-"

"This is a map to our father!" Sokka shouted, peering over Katara's shoulder. "You had this the whole time?"

"Wait, that was from last night, wasn't it!" Rin exclaimed, realizing who Aang was talking to at the ship.

"You knew?" Katara asked.

"How could you?" Sokka shouted, pointing towards Aang. "You can go to the North Pole on your own. We're going to find dad."

As Sokka marched off towards the woods, Bato reached out to try and stop him. "Now Sokka, I think you should-"

"Katara, are you with me?" Sokka asked, turning around towards his sister. She looked back at Aang at Rin, then back to Sokka.

"I'm with you."

Bato, Sokka, and Kata started walking back down the forest path to the abbey, leaving Rin and Aang behind on the beach. Without a word, Aang whipped out his glider and flew in their direction. With a sigh, Rin started walking through the forest, following everyone back to the abbey.

* * *

><p>Aang watched Bato and the two siblings pack up from on top of Appa's head as they got ready for their journey to their father. As they walked to the village gates, Katara looked up at Aang. Both of their eyes were filled with disappointment.<p>

"Good luck, Aang."

"You too."

As the three water tribe members went through the gate and out of the abbey, one of the sisters approached Aang to see him off.

"I guess I should be leaving now," Aang muttered, grabbing onto Appa's reigns.

"That would be best," the woman said. Without a word, Aang ordered Appa through the gates, looking towards the forest path as Katara and Sokka walked out of sight.

"I'm such an idiot," Aang told himself.

"Yeah, you probably are," Aang heard someone say from behind Appa. Turning around, he saw Rin climbing up the bison's tail and into the saddle. "So, are we going to the North Pole or what?"

"Wait, you're coming?" Aang asked, surprised at Rin's sudden appearance.

"Why wouldn't I?" Rin asked back. "I signed up to help the Avatar, not some whiney water kids."

"Well, I guess we're going to the North Pole now," Aang said, directing Appa down the path to the beach. As Appa lumbered down the trail, Rin walked up behind Aang.

"Seriously though, you were an idiot back there."

"I know, I know, you don't have to rub it in. I shouldn't have been so selfish."

"No, I mean you were stupid when you confessed the truth to them," Rin explained. "Why didn't you say that you forgot you had the map? Or better yet, wait until you can get away from them and then claim that a messenger had just arrived with the map?"

"I can't do that!" Aang exclaimed. "They're my best friends, I can't just lie to them."

"Seriously?" Rin asked, rubbing her forehead and sitting back down in the saddle. "First the food thing, and now this... you're too naive, you know?"

"How so? I'm just following my beliefs, what's wrong with that?" Aang asked.

"The world doesn't work that way," Rin explained. "Being completely truthful is probably the worst way through life. You have to lie at least once in a while. Ironically, lying can be a way to keep someone's trust, unlike what you did back there."

"How do you know?" Aang argued.

"You were probably raised in some cozy temple or monastery, right?" Rin asked. Aang nodded in response.

"You got taken care of by monks?" Another nod.

"They taught you to be honest and other crap like that?" Aang nodded once more.

"Well, I've been by myself for most of the past few years," Rin said. "If there's anything the world has taught me, it's that you're probably going to die if you try to follow your morals."

"It doesn't matter now. They're already gone," Aang muttered as they reached the beach. Suddenly, Rin heard a shout from the forest. Turning around, she saw one of the sisters from the abbey.

"Avatar, you must leave!" the woman shouted.

"I know, nobody wants me around, I got it," Aang mumbled.

"A group of people came to the abbey looking for you," the lady continued with a worried look on her face.

"Who?" Aang asked, devoting his full attention to the woman.

"A fierce looking woman and a man with a scar. They were riding a giant beast," she explained.

"Zuko," Rin and Aang said at the same time, looking at each other. Aang's eyes widened in realization.

"You know his name?" Aang asked.

"Yeah, who's ship do you think I worked on?" Rin replied, focusing her attention on the lady who was waiting to speak.

"The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you," she said, causing Aang's eyes to widen once again.

"A necklace?" Aang said. "Katara! We've got to go back! Yip yip!"

Appa soared into the air, letting out a loud growl as they flew back into the forest. It would only be a matter of time before Zuko found the two siblings and realize that the Avatar was somewhere else.

* * *

><p>As Appa approached the abbey, Rin saw a giant brown creature burst through the gates, sniffing around wildly as if looking for a scent. Riding the beast was a black haired woman dressed in dark leather, along with the prince and his uncle. They were holding the two water tribe siblings, who were being dragged along the side of the beast.<p>

"So that's how they found us..." Rin muttered, turning to Aang. "Be careful, that shirshu sees with it's sense of smell. It has some weird toxin on its tongue, so watch out. I got hit once some time ago, and it wasn't pleasant."

"Got it. Take these," Aang commanded, handing the reins over to Rin. He then unfolded his glider and started spiraling over the abbey, just as the shirshu looked up towards him. He swooped down in front of the shirshu, causing it to buck its passengers onto the ground. The woman immediately climbed back onto the shirshu, leaving the other passengers behind. Rin watched from above, before realizing that she should probably help Aang.

"Yip yip!" Rin shouted, directing Appa to the ground. She saw the shirshu and its rider approaching Aang and, using the reins, she pulled Appa's horns towards the shirshu. The bison seemed to get the message, as he immediately rammed the other creature through the wall and into the hallways of the abbey, causing the woman to fall off.

"Thank you!" Aang called, before dodging a blast of flame from Zuko. Meanwhile, Rin looked over towards the water tribe siblings to check whether they were okay or not. She saw them being carried to the side by two of the sisters. Rin assumed that they were struck by the shirshu, since they were still awake and talking to each other, but the rest of their bodies weren't moving. However, before she could go to check up on them, Rin heard a rush of air and fire behind her.

"Up!" Rin commanded, narrowly avoiding an explosion caused by a clash between Aang and Zuko. From the air, Rin saw the woman get up and whip the shirshu back onto its legs, before mounting it once more. As Rin and Appa passed overhead, a long tongue suddenly extended from the shirshu's mouth and slashed Appa's hind leg, causing him to crash into the ground.

"Come on, get up. You're a big guy, it shouldn't hurt that much," Rin muttered as the shirshu and its rider drew closer. Just as they approached striking distance, Appa slowly stood up, growling at the mole-nosed beast before charging, with the shirshu doing the same. The two animals clashed and the shirshu, being the lighter of the two, gave way, causing its rider to fly through the air over Rin and Appa. Suddenly, as the other woman hit the ground, Appa turned and tried to stomp her. As she rolled away, Appa growled at Zuko, who had come close during his fight with Aang.

"Hey! The shirshu's the bigger threat here!" Rin shouted, looking over her shoulder at the mole creature, who was getting up and charging back towards Appa. However, the bison paid no heed to her warning, focusing on Zuko as the shirshu drew closer. With a sigh, Rin turned and got up, running across Appa's back to confront the shirshu. However, with three swift strikes of its tongue, the beast had left two large gashes in Appa's flank, along with a large gash down Rin's left leg.

_Not again,_ Rin thought as the toxins caused a stinging pain to flood her body. It was as if thousands of tiny needles were running through her veins, stabbing into every part of herself. Rin clenched her teeth as her limbs locked up in pain, causing her to fall down the side of the bison.

"How do those toxins feel?" the woman asked, walking by Rin's body and climbing back onto her shirshu as Appa collapsed onto the ground beside Rin. "Don't worry, by the time they wear off, you'll be in prison and I'll have a lot of gold... along with that large sum you seem to be carrying around on your head."

As the woman rode off to pursue the Avatar, Rin felt the stinging pain starting to fade, quickly being replaced by a dull ache in her bones. _H__uh, I can move again,_ Rin thought, looking down at her leg to see if she actually got hit. Sure enough, there was a bloody gash running down her leg, staining her clothes and causing Rin to grimace. With a groan, she stood up, spotting Sokka and Katara lying down at the side of the courtyard talking to each other.

"How are you doing? When did you get hit?" Rin asked as she limped up to the two siblings. Sokka's arms were skewed over, while Katara was leaning uncomfortable against the wall in such a way that put a large amount of strain on her neck. Both of them were covered in rubble from the fight.

"Some time ago," Sokka explained. "I've only just gotten a little feeling back."

"Seriously? I got hit a few seconds ago, and I'm fine," Rin argued, moving the siblings into a more comfortable position.

"Easy for you to say," Katara grumbled as her hand started to twitch. "We're still paralyzed."

"Well, apart from a bit of aching, I'm fine. Maybe the shirshu ran out of toxins," Rin said as one of the sisters came out of the abbey. The sister took out a small bottle of perfume, and Rin could immediately tell that it was strong. From her position about fifteen feet away, she could smell the sharp odor emanating from the bottle, and she could see the scent trail exiting the opening of the bottle. As the sister put the perfume under Sokka's nose, he instantly sprung up, drawing back from the scent. Katara did the same, revolting from the smell of the perfume. Rin could only imagine how strong the smell was from that close.

"When we were captured by Zuko, the mole thing used the map to track Aang's scent," Sokka explained as he rubbed his nose, trying to get rid of the smell. "It seems to see with it's sense of smell. Let's give it something to look at."

"So, the perfume?" Rin asked as Sokka nodded in confirmation, then turned to the sisters of the abbey, who were hiding behind large pots of perfume.

"Sisters, I'm going to need you to push the pots near the beast," Sokka commanded. "Once you get near enough, spill the perfume. Katara, bend the perfume onto the creature's nose. It'll never know what hit it."

The sisters lined up behind the pots, along with Sokka and Rin. They slowly started to approach the mole creature, which was chasing Aang through the abbey, trying to catch him with its tongue. As Aang dodged both lashes of the paralyzing tongue and deadly blasts of fire from Zuko, the nuns spilled the perfume, allowing Katara to waterbend the liquid onto the creature. The effect was immediate: the beast went berserk and started lashing out randomly with its tongue, whipping around and throwing its rider to the ground.

"Get away!" Rin shouted, turning away from the berserk creature. However, before she could run, the tongue caught her in the back, causing the stinging sensation to force itself through her body once more.

"Rin!" Sokka shouted, running to pick her up and carry her to safety. However, as he grabbed onto her, she pushed him away, getting up and dusting herself off.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Rin said, running to safety as the rampaging creature leaped over the wall and into the forest. "Go check if the Avatar's okay."

"Are you sure you're fine? That tongue just knocked out prince jerkface over there, and he's probably the most stubborn guys we know," Sokka said, pointing towards Zuko, who was laying on the ground, paralyzed.

"I'm fine, okay?" Rin reassured Sokka, who shrugged and went over to Aang, along with Katara. After checking on her injuries, Rin went over to join them.

* * *

><p>"So, where are we going?" Aang asked as the group flew over the forest.<p>

"We're taking you to the north pole," Katara replied.

"We've lost too much time as it is," Sokka said, wrapping a bandage around his arm to cover the gash left by the shirshu's tongue.

"Didn't you two want to see your father or something?" Rin asked to Sokka.

"Of course we do," Sokka replied. "But Aang's family too. Right now, he needs us more."

"And we need you," Katara said to Aang.

"What, so I'm not family or something?" Rin asked.

"I don't think two days is long enough to be part of the family," Katara replied.

"Seriously? After all I've done for you guys?" Rin argued.

"Don't worry, you can be part of our family if you want to," Aang told Rin with a smile, before turning to Katara. "I just wish that I could give you a small piece of home, Katara."

"I'll be okay, Aang." Katara reassured.

"Still, maybe just a little trinket, something like... this!" Aang said, suddenly whipping out a blue necklace from his pocket and attracting Rin's attention.

"Aang, how did you get that?" Katara asked, smiling as she put the necklace around her neck.

"Zuko told me to make sure that you got it," Aang said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Aww, that's sweet of him. Give him a kiss for me when you see him, okay?" Katara said, playfully kissing Aang on the cheek before turning to Rin, with a dead serious look on her face. "And don't you dare try to steal my necklace."

"Whoa, what's with the accusations?" Rin asked. "Besides, I don't think a carved stone on a leather strap is going to be worth much."

"This necklace is worth more to me than anything else! Are you saying it's worthless?" Katara shouted.

"Well, it may be worth a lot to you, but as far as market value, I don't think it'll fetch a big price. Just keep it for yourself," Rin explained, leaning back against the side of the saddle.

"Hey Rin, do you need any bandages?" Sokka asked, holding up the roll of bandages he was using. "I saw you get hit at least once by the tongue. And about that, why weren't you paralyzed like everyone else?"

"I dunno, I guess it ran out of toxin, or maybe I just have a resistance to whatever toxin the shirshu uses. I've gotten hit by it before, you know," Rin said, taking the bandages from Sokka and wrapping them around her leg. She decided to leave the wound on her back alone, as it wasn't as deep and had already scabbed over.

"Really?" Sokka asked, taking the bandages back. "When?"

"I came across a wild one before, and apparently they're very territorial. Luckily for me, they're only seem to eat plants, so I was fine, after the toxins wore off," Rin explained.

"Oh," Sokka said, returning to his seat. Meanwhile, Rin turned around to watch the land go by underneath them, with the sunset off to the side. Slowly but surely, they were making their way to the North Pole.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There are some things that I feel like I need criticism, or at least advice about. Right now, I'm concerned about three things:**

**1) Characterization. I'm afraid that Rin is coming off as flat, or uninteresting.**

**2) Action scenes. I have no idea how to write one, which was actually one of the reasons why I deleted chapter one. I can't really write an engaging fight scene.**

**3) Endings. I have no idea how to end a chapter, and most of my endings feel abrupt.**

**Please leave a review, and if you have the time, please tell me if and how I can improve. Your reviews will help me write better. Remember, this is my first fanfic, so there's got to be something I can improve on.**

**Oh, and one more thing: unless people want it, I probably won't go into the details on Rin's appearance. She looks Earth Kingdom, and she wears an old brown cloak with a brown tunic underneath. Unless something else comes up later, or it's requested, I don't think I really need to go into more detail.**


	6. The Deserter

**Thanks to NatNicole for reviewing, and to answer your question: Rin may have a bit of fun during this chapter, but I'm waiting until later for a "fun" chapter. One thing to note, line breaks usually indicate a change in scene.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: The Deserter<p>

"It's getting late," Sokka said, covering his mouth as he yawned. "We should find somewhere to sleep for the night."

"I'm pretty sure there's a village nearby that we can stay at," Rin said, watching the sun approach the horizon as they walked down the path through the forest. She spotted a kiosk sitting on the side of the road.

"Hey, what's that?" Katara asked, running up to the kiosk and looking at a large poster plastered on the side. "Oh, this should give us a good idea of what's in the area."

"See if you can find a menu. I'm starving," Sokka said. Rin felt the same way, as she hadn't eaten since morning. Her stomach started to emit a slow gurgling sound, as if it was alive and crying for sustenance. However, the feeling didn't bother her. Rin had dealt with hunger many times before, and she could do it again with ease.

"We'll find something to eat here," Aang said, pointing to the poster, which showed , among other things, a red dragon surrounded by balls of fire. "The Fire Days festival hosts Fire Nation cultural exhibits, jugglers, benders, and magicians. It'll be a great place to study some real firebenders.

"I think we get enough studying from Zuko chasing us around," Sokka said from the other side of the kiosk. "Besides, look at this."

"Hey, it's a poster of me!" Aang exclaimed as he went around to Sokka. Rin followed him and saw that the other side of the kiosk was plastered with various posters, each depicting a person. Aang's picture was among them.

"Yeah, a wanted poster," Sokka said, removing the poster from the kiosk and reading the list of offenses. "Wanted for destruction of property, injury of Fire Nation soldiers, threatening the well-being of the Fire Nation, and being the Avatar. Can bend all four elements, approach with extreme caution."

"I don't think we should go to the festival," Katara suggested, taking the poster from Sokka.

"I have to learn firebending at some point," Aang reminded the group. "This may be my only chance to watch a master firebender up close."

"Well," Katara muttered, rubbing her chin. "I guess it won't hurt to check it out."

"What? You want to walk into a Fire Nation town when they're all fired up with their, well, fire?" Sokka exclaimed.

"We'll put on disguises," Katara said. "If it looks like trouble, we'll leave."

"Right, because we always leave before we get into trouble," Sokka said sarcastically. "Rin, you're usually reasonable, convince them to not go to the festival."

"Actually, considering that there's a festival, it's probably the safest time to go into town," Rin explained. "Everyone's going to be either drunk or partying."

"See, it'll be fine," Katara said, before something on the kiosk caught her eye. She took another wanted poster from the wall and looked at it for a second, before turning to the group. "Rin, is this you?"

"Let me take a look... yup, that's me," Rin confirmed, nodding as she studied the picture, which depicted herself wearing a brown tunic. The poster captured her appearance perfectly, though to be fair, it wasn't hard, since she looked like any other female Earth Kingdom peasant or refugee on the continent. They did get her short brown hair along with her unusually light skin color, but she usually wore her cloak over her head and body, so it didn't really matter. "So, what did they accuse me of?"

"Can't you read it yourself?" Katara asked, annoyed.

"Nope. Can't read," Rin replied, looking up from the poster to Katara.

"Seriously?" Aang asked. "You never learned how to read?"

"Why would I? I've never needed to read, and I've never really had the opportunity to learn while I was on the road, anyways," Rin explained. "So, can someone tell me what's on my poster?"

"Well, there's a lot of things," Katara said. "Thievery and highway robbery, for one."

"Guilty," Rin said.

"Uh... destruction of property," Katara continued.

"Well, I guess if you count livestock as property, sure" Rin replied. "I was hungry. Also, I've probably destroyed a few merchant stalls over my travels."

"Aiding a wanted criminal..." Katara read. "Oh, that was for breaking Aang out of prison, right?"

"Not necessarily," Rin muttered. "It's a long story."

"And this last one... public intoxication?!" Katara exclaimed.

"Again, a long and rather embarrassing story. I'd rather not talk about it," Rin explained. "Anything else besides crimes?"

"Nonbender, armed and dangerous," Katara read. "Approach with caution. Huh, I'm surprised that murder isn't on here."

"I already told you, I'm not a murderer. Maybe a bandit or thief, but not a murderer," Rin replied. "At least, not yet. Now that I'm part of the war effort, that might change sooner or later. So, are we going to the festival?"

"Hold on a minute. We need something to conceal ourselves," Sokka said, digging through his bag. Looking back towards the posters, Rin noticed the mask of the blue spirit, the same mask that Zuko had been wearing back at the prison.

_Well, the Fire Prince is a fugitive from the Fire Nation. How ironic,_ Rin thought as Sokka pulled two blue cloaks from his bag.

"What about me?" Aang asked. "I don't have anything to hide myself with."

"Think of something," Rin answered. The group set off back down the trail, towards the town.

* * *

><p>Eventually, the forest path opened up to a hill overlooking the village. The town seemed to already be in the middle of the festival, as the streets were bright and Rin could hear the commotion of the crowds from her position on the hill. Aang signalled the group to stop before they went down the hill.<p>

"Appa, Momo, you guys hide up here while we go to the festival," Aang commanded. Momo fluttered around for a few seconds before diving into a bush, while Appa trying to cover himself behind the same bush. Rin stifled a snort as she watched the bison try to conceal himself behind the small shrub.

"Ready your disguises," Aang called to the rest of the group. Rin watched as Katara and Sokka put on their cloaks and pull their hoods over their heads, concealing their faces. Meanwhile, Aang simply pulled the back of his robe over his face, which ended up making him look like a hunchback.

"Now everyone looks like me," Rin mumbled, putting her hood up. "And Aang, was that seriously the best thing you could come up with?"

"I didn't have much to work with," Aang argued. "Besides, it's fine as a disguise, right?"

"It's like you're whole different person," Sokka said sarcastically as Katara giggled at Aang's attempt at disguise. As they proceeded down the hill and approached the village gates, Rin spotted a few guards milling around the festival.

"Remember, if you don't want to be suspicious, just relax and have fun," Rin instructed as they entered through the gates. "That's what everyone else is doing."

"That's not going to be enough. I think we're going to need new disguises," Katara said, pointing to the people milling around the festival. Sure enough, almost everyone had a painted mask covering their face, making Rin's group stand out among the crowd.

"Where are we going to get masks like that?" Sokka asked, just as Rin pointed to the left. Sure enough, there was a salesman sitting by the side of the street, selling many different face masks. "Well, that was easy," Sokka muttered as they went up to the booth.

"We'll take four masks," Aang said, handing over a few coins as each member of the group selected a mask for themselves. Rin chose a plain red mask that she had seen a lot of other people wear, as she didn't want to be identified by her mask in case something went wrong. She put the it over her face and turned back to the group, who already had their masks on..

"I'm surprised that you didn't just go and steal them," Katara muttered.

"And attract attention to myself? Besides, it's a festival. I want to relax for once," Rin said, leading the group down the street. Soon, Rin heard Sokka's stomach start to rumble, reminding Rin of her own hunger. Fortunately, they were in the middle of a festival, so she assumed that finding something to eat wouldn't be a problem.

"Hey, there's some food over there," Aang pointed out, leading the group to a booth. Placed on a small table were small bags of steaming red flakes, which Rin instantly recognized as fire flakes. She debated on whether to get a bag or not, but a growl from her stomach won her over. With a sigh, she approached the booth behind Sokka, who seemed to be delighted at the prospect of food.

"Best fire flakes in town," the man behind the booth proclaimed. Sokka stared at the flakes for a moment, and Rin swore that a fountain of drool would come spilling out of his mouth if she removed the boy's mask.

"I'll take it," Sokka said, grabbing a bag and throwing a coin onto the table before quickly removed his mask and dumped the flakes into his mouth. He let out a shout of pain and immediately started panting, trying to scrape the hot flakes from his mouth. Rin tried to hold back a laugh, but ultimately failed as she saw Sokka's pained expression.

"Hey, it's really spicy! You try it!" Sokka argued as he saw Rin giggling.

"Flaming fire flakes, who would have guessed," Katara said.

"Fine, I'll try it," Rin said, paying the booth owner a coin and taking a bag of fire flakes. She lifted her mask and upturned the bag into her mouth, chewing slowly as the group watched her. After a few seconds she swallowed the flakes, turning towards Sokka and giving him a smug grin.

"How?" Sokka asked. "You're not even sweating!"

"I once stole an entire sack of fire flakes," Rin explained with a smile. "It started as one of the worst weeks in my life, but I got used to them. This is nothing."

"That's cheating!" Sokka claimed, but Rin simply grinned and put her mask back down over her face, prompting Sokka to do the same.

"Hey what's that?" Aang asked, pointing down the street at a crowd of children sitting in front of a small booth. As they approached, a small wooden figure jumped up from behind the booth, which caused the children to cheer.

"It's a puppet show," Katara said. As they drew closer, Rin saw that the puppet was dressed in red robes and wore a small crown.

"Don't worry, loyal citizens! Nobody can surprise the Fire Lord!" the puppet shouted as another puppet, dressed as an Earth Kingdom soldier, appeared with a rock, causing gasps from the children. The Fire Lord puppet immediately turned and blew fire, roasting the soldier puppet and getting cheers from the children.

"Just a bunch of propaganda," Rin muttered, leaving with the rest of the group. As they proceeded down the street, Rin spotted a booth sitting by the side of the street and tapped Aang on his shoulder. "Hey, go on without me. I'll meet up with you in a minute. Don't get into any trouble, okay?"

"Okay, be back soon," Aang said. Rin separated off from the group and walked up to the booth, where a bundle of bottles was sitting on a table.

"Best sake in town, ten coppers," the man behind the booth said.

"One bottle," Rin asked, taking the coins from her bag and giving them to the man while grabbing a bottle of sake. As she walked away from the booth she took out her knife and used it to pry the cork from the neck of the bottle. She pocketed both her knife and the cork and proceeded to start drinking straight from the bottle.

_Haven't had anything like this in a long time..._ Rin thought as the burning liquid poured down her throat. She wandered around the festival for a while, looking for Aang, Sokka, and Katara, before finding them lingering in front of a large stage.

"...but there's a large crowd, so there must be something good," Rin heard Aang say as she caught up to the group. "Oh, Rin, you're back. Where did you go off to, anyways?"

"Nowhere really, just bought something and started looking for you guys again," Rin replied, following the gaze of the crowd around her. Everyone was looking towards the stage, where a performer was shooting large fireballs through the air. Rin took another swig from her bottle, which caught Katara's attention.

"Rin, is that... are you drinking?!"

"Yeah, do you think I bought this bottle just for show?"

"But you're only... wait, how old are you?"

"I dunno. Does it really matter though?" Rin took another gulp from her bottle before turning to watch the firebender on the stage. "Besides, I've had sake before. I can handle my drink. Want some?"

"No, and I really don't think you should be drinking," Katara said, pushing the bottle away. Rin shrugged and started gulping down the fiery liquid as the performer finished his act on stage.

"For my next trick, I'll need a volunteer from the audience," the performer said. Aang immediately started jumping up and down, raising his hand in hopes that the performer would call on him.

"What are you doing?" Sokka whispered as he pulled Aang's hand down.

"I wanted to get a closer look," Aang muttered.

"We're already right in front of the stage," Rin said. "How close do you want to get?"

"We shouldn't be attracting attention to ourselves," Katara advised, just as the performer pointed towards her.

"How about you, little lady?" the performer asked as Katara backed away. "Aww, she's shy. Let's give her some encouragement!"

The crowd started cheering as one of the bystanders pushed Katara towards the stage. As the performer hoisted her up and sat her down in a chair, Rin tried to take another gulp from her bottle, only to realize that she had already drunk every last drop. The sake was starting to take effect, as she started to feel lightheaded and tipsy.

"I call this one Taming the Dragon!" the performer shouted, tying Katara to the chair and shooting a stream of fire out into the sky, which formed the shape of a dragon. Rin decided not to pay much attention to the act, instead focusing on her feet, which were starting to stumble over themselves.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked, grabbing Rin and holding her upright.

"Yeah, I just lost my balance for a moment," Rin replied as her cheeks started to turn red. "Hey, hold on to me for a bit longer, will you?"

"I'm pretty sure you're not okay," Sokka muttered. "Are you drunk?"

"What? No! Well, maybe. Just a little. Probably. Yeah, I'm probably drunk," Rin admitted, leaning against the elevated stage in front of her. Suddenly, she felt a blast of wind, followed by Sokka grabbing her and bringing her up onto the stage.

"What happened?" Rin asked, suddenly alert again as she heard shouts coming up from the back of the crowd. Turning around, she saw a group of guards forcing their way through the people towards the stage.

"I think it's time to go," Sokka said, looking around for an exit. Suddenly, a cloaked man appeared from behind the stage and waved to them.

"Follow me! I can get you out of here!" he called, motioning for the group to come with him. They ran off the stage and into an alley, with Rin stumbling behind them. As the guards came close, the man threw a bomb that covered the area in smoke, allowing them to escape back into the festival.

"Aang, what did you do?" Rin asked as they ran through the streets.

"It's not my fault!" Aang shouted. "It looked like Katara was in danger! The performer lost control of the dragon!"

"You're the stupidest Avatar alive!" Rin shouted back. "Did you seriously think that the guy actually lost control of a goddamn flame dragon that he made himself? It was all an act, you know!"

"I know, but at the time..." Aang said before taking a bison shaped whistle from his pocket and blowing on it. Oddly enough, Rin couldn't hear any noise from the whistle..

"What was that supposed to do?!"

"It's calling Appa! He'll be here soon!"

"If I can't hear it from here, I don't think that bison can hear it from all the way out there!"

"Just wait, you'll see!"

As they ran through the street, a group of soldiers appeared ahead of them, blocking their path. With a grunt, the cloaked man pulled the fuse from another bomb and threw it at the soldiers, leading the group into an alleyway. Unfortunately, it was a dead end, as a large cart of fireworks was blocking the exit.

"Looks like we're trapped," Katara said, turning back towards the soldiers.

"Not really," Rin replied, jumping onto the wheels of the cart. However, as she tried to reach up and grab the top of the cart, she lost her balance, causing her to fall flat on her back. "Never mind, we're trapped."

_Maybe I should've saved that drink for later,_ Rin thought as the soldiers drew closer. Suddenly, Rin heard Appa's roar coming from the sky.

"Appa, down here!" Aang called. The bison touched down and whipped its tail at the soldiers, blowing them out of the alley and onto the street. The group climbed into Appa's saddle, flying away as the soldiers tried to catch up. The cloaked man threw one last bomb at the fireworks cart, causing it to explode and fill the sky with lights.

"Yeah!" Rin shouted, throwing her empty bottle down towards the town and hitting one of the soldiers in the head. Luckily for him, his helmet took the brunt of the impact, and the soldier was only knocked to the ground. As she sat back down, she felt a wave of sleepiness come over her, so she laid herself down onto Appa's saddle and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, Rin was asleep.

* * *

><p><em>Shit, not again.<em>

Rin woke up from her sake-induced slumber, feeling as though a battleship had parked itself on her head and was constantly rocking back and forth. She immediately regretted her decision to drink the night before. As she opened her eyes, the sun flashed into them, causing her headache to intensify. Suddenly, a feeling of nausea surged up from her stomach, and she threw up onto the dirt floor to her side.

_Oh god, it hurts. Just kill me now._

After spewing the orange-brown stew from her stomach, Rin wiped her mouth, taking a look around the room. It was a small hut, with just a few mats placed on the ground. She saw the group's stuff, including Aang's staff and Sokka's club, leaning against the side of the hut, indicating that they were nearby. However, she had no idea where she was.

"Hey Rin, are you awake?!" The pain from Rin's headache rose exponentially as Sokka shouted into the hut.

"Gaaaah! Sokka, be quiet!"

"Sorry."

Sokka entered the hut and closed the door behind him, cutting off the sun and allowing Rin to relax her head. Upon seeing the vomit sitting next to Rin, he pinched his nose and grabbed a rag hanging from the wall to clean up the vomit.

"Are you alright?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, just the aftereffects from the sake. I always tell myself that I won't drink again but..." Rin trailed off, then turned to Sokka. "So, what happened while I was asleep?"

"Well, the guy who rescued us last night? He's an ex-Fire Nation soldier. Apparently, he works for some high rank firebender who deserted from the army," Sokka explained. "Some guy named Jeong Jeong. This is his hideout. Aang's going to learn firebending from him."

"Huh. This headache feels like shit, can you get me some water?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, give me a second," Sokka said. He grabbed a canteen of water sitting off to the side of the hut and gave it to Rin. She uncapped the canteen and started drinking the water in small sips, slowly making her headache fade away.

"So, what are we supposed to do while Aang learns how to firebend?" Rin asked.

"I dunno," Sokka replied, grabbing his fishing rod from the side of the hut.. "Katara's practicing her waterbending. I think I'll just go catch some fish or something."

"Well, go ahead. I'm going to get my stuff and meet you guys outside," Rin said. As Sokka exited the hut, Rin looked around for her cloak, before realizing that she was wearing it the whole time. She grabbed her bag and took a piece of bread out, taking small bites as she followed Sokka outside. The first thing she noticed was the sun, as it was unusually hot for the morning. Looking around, she saw that the hut was situated on a small hill, with a path leading down to a few other huts and, eventually, a river at the bottom of the hill. A thick forest surrounded the area, providing ample cover for the hideout. Down by the river, Rin saw Aang standing on a rock, posed in a horse stance, with an old Fire Nation man watching him.

Aang immediately noticed Rin coming out of the hut and waved to her, breaking his stance. "Hey Rin, you're finally awa-"

"CONCENTRATE!" the old man yelled. Rin assumed that this was Aang's firebending teacher, as the Avatar immediately yelped and jumped right back into his stance. Rin went down the hill to meet the old man, who turned towards her.

"So you're Jeong Jeong?" Rin asked. Upon closer inspection, Rin saw that the man had a large bush of white hair on his head, along with a large frown on his wrinkled face.

"That I am," the man said. "And you are?"

"Name's Rin. I'm traveling with the Avatar right now," Rin explained.

"Hm. Now if you would excuse me, I need peace and quiet so I may teach-" Jeong Jeong started to say, before stopping abruptly and staring at Rin. His face froze, and his eyes seemed to show a feeling of disbelief. After a few seconds of neither person moving, Jeong Jeong suddenly turned to Aang. "Avatar, follow me. We are moving on to the next stage of your lessons."

"What was that?" Rin asked to nobody in particular as Aang and his teacher walked off into the woods. She dismissed it as one of the usual "old man antics" she had seen before, and wandered off to search for Katara and Sokka. After wandering down the riverbank, she saw Katara pulling a globe of water through the air, with Sokka fishing from a rock further down the bank.

"Hey," Rin called, catching their attention.

"Well, look who decided to wake up this morning," Katara said.

"It's not my fault," Rin argued. "I had a headache."

"That's because you drank an entire bottle of sake last night," Katara said. "So technically, it _**is**_ your fault."

"Can't argue with that," Sokka added. "Why did you drink last night, anyways?"

"I did say that everyone would either be partying or drunk, and I didn't really feel like partying," Rin explained. "So, the Avatar's gone off to learn how to firebend. What now?"

"Just do whatever," Sokka said. "We'll just stay long enough for Aang to learn firebending, then it's off to the North Pole."

"I'm going to go explore around the place," Rin said, turning around and heading back down the riverbank. As she got back to the huts, she saw Jeong Jeong walking back to his hut on the river, alone, without Aang.

_I wonder what he's doing,_ Rin thought, watching as the old man entered the hut. She leaned over against the wooden sides of the structure, cupping her hand against her ear to listen.

"To think she's joined up with the Avatar..." Rin heard Jeong Jeong mumble. "How ironic. I must inform the Grand Lotus at once."

_What's he talking about?_ Rin thought, listening intently for more. However, the only thing she heard was the rustling of paper, followed by silence. Suddenly, she heard a gust of wind blow by, followed by footsteps from behind her.

"Hey Rin, what're you doing?" Aang asked as he came down from the forest.

"Eavesdropping," Rin replied. "Shouldn't you be training?"

"Well, Jeong Jeong told me to breathe on top of a mountain and just left me there. I'm starting to think that he just wants to waste my time. I want to learn firebending already!" Aang explained.

"He's in his hut right now. Go talk to him," Rin suggested. Aang went through the door of the hut, leaving Rin leaning against the side. She put her ear to the wall once more, listening in on Aang's conversation with the old man.

"Why are you here? I never told you to stop!"

"I've been up there breathing for hours!"

"You want to stop breathing?!" Jeong Jeong's comment forced a snicker out of Rin, which she suppressed an instant later.

"Who's there?" the old man shouted in her direction, making Rin jump away from the wall. It seemed that he had heard Rin snickering, but he didn't pay her much attention, as he went right back to talking with Aang. Rin started walking back down the riverbank, but stopped as she heard footsteps coming out of the hut.

"So, are you going to learn firebending now?" Rin asked. "We don't have all week, we need to head to the North Pole."

"Jeong Jeong said that I had to learn restraint so that I could handle fire," Aang explained. "It should be simple enough."

"That's great. I'll go tell the others," Rin said, walking back down the riverbank. Looking back, she saw Aang sitting cross legged on a rock in the middle of the river, meditating. Further down the river, she saw Katara and Sokka doing the same things she left them doing. As she drew closer, Sokka pulled a fish out of the river, pumping up his fist in triumph.

"Woo hoo! First catch of the day!" he shouted. However, as Sokka removed the fishhook from the fish's mouth, it turned and smacked the boy in the face with its tail, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the river with a large splash. The fish swam away, while Sokka dragged himself onto the shore, soaking wet from head to toe.

"That was pathetic," Rin muttered.

"Hey! The fish fought back!" Sokka argued.

"And apparently, it won," Rin replied. "Anyways, the Avatar's about to have his first firebending experience. You guys want to watch?"

"Sure," Katara said, walking past Rin and heading back towards the huts.

"Eh, why not," Sokka muttered, grabbing his fishing pole and following his sister. Rin trailed behind them, eventually seeing Aang still meditating on the rock. As they got closer, Jeong Jeong came out of his hut and stood in front of Aang.

"We're going to work with fire now," he declared.

"Oh yeah!" Aang shouted, jumping up and flipping around in the air before seeing the disapproving look on Jeong Jeong's face. "I mean, let us begin."

"Concentrate on the fire," the old man said, grabbing a leaf from the wind and burning a small hole in the middle before handing it to Aang. "Keep the flames from reaching the edge of the leaf for as long as you can."

"Seriously?" Aang groaned, shifting into his stance and holding the leaf from both ends. Suddenly, a man came running down the hill, stopping next to Jeong Jeong.

"Master, there is trouble," he said. Jeong Jeong's eyes widened, and he took off running behind the man.

"Hey!" Aang shouted. "What's going on?"

"Concentrate!" Jeong Jeong shouted over his shoulder, before disappearing into the woods. Aang sighed and started concentrating on the leaf. Sokka cast his fishing rod to the river again, intent on catching and keeping a fish. Katara resumed her waterbending practice and Rin, having nothing better to do, watched Aang as he focused on the leaf.

"This is the worst firebending instructor ever," Aang complained. "All he does is leave me alone to concentrate or breathe."

"I'm sure there's a good reason," Katara said, dropping her water into the river and walking over to observe Aang's practice.

"Since he's a firebending master, I think he knows what he's doing," Rin added.

"But I'm ready to do so much more!" Aang shouted, before grumbling and focusing on the leaf again. Rin noticed a different aura around the boy then before - it felt hotter, brighter. As if he was trying to burn the leaf, rather than save it from being burned. In a few seconds, her feelings turned out to be true, as the leaf was incinerated and replaced by a burning fireball, suspended in the Avatar's palm.

"I did it! I made fire!" Aang shouted with glee, staring at the small flame in his hand.

"That's great, Aang, but you should take it slowly," Katara advised.

"Not to mention that you just failed your test," Rin reminded him. "You should probably go get another leaf so the old man doesn't find out." Despite the advice from the two girls, Aang started playing with his flame, making it grow to the size of his head.

"Now that's firebending!" He said, shooting a stream of fire into the air.

"Aang, be careful! You're going to hurt yourself!" Katara warned.

"At this rate, I think he's going to hurt us before he hurts himself," Rin muttered, watching Aang juggle the flame around himself. If he heard Katara's warning, he didn't show it, as he continued to gleefully play with the ball of fire.

"I wonder how the performer did it," Aang wondered out loud, holding the ball of fire over his head. Suddenly, he pushed outwards, creating a rapidly expanding ring of fire that launched itself towards the two girls. Rin's experience with firebending got her to instinctively duck and roll under the blast, coming up kneeling next to the river unscathed. A cry of pain, however, told Rin that Katara had ended up differently.

"Katara, I'm so sorry!" Aang shouted, leaping from the river to the shore and running up to her. Rin looked over and saw the girl sitting on the ground, crying and clutching her red, blistered hands to her stomach.

"Oh sure, block the fire with your bare hands," Rin muttered, taking her bag from her back and digging through it to look for bandages. Meanwhile, Sokka dropped his fishing pole and ran over to Katara's side.

"Katara, what's wrong?" he asked. Seeing Katara's burnt hands, he looked up at Aang with an angry look on his face. "What did you do?!"

"I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Aang pleaded, reaching out to Katara. Sokka leapt over his sister and onto Aang, pinning him to the ground.

"I knew we shouldn't have done this!" Sokka shouted. "Look at what you did! You burned my sister!" As Sokka shouted at Aang, Katara got up and ran down the riverbank.

"Hey! Get back here!" Rin shouted. However, it was to no avail, as the water tribe girl ran into the woods and out of sight. As Rin finally found the roll of bandages in her bag, Jeong Jeong came running out of the woods.

"This is all your fault!" Sokka shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the old man.

"I know," he replied. "Now pack your things. You must leave."

"I'm sorry! I didn't..." Aang pleaded to Sokka as he ran off to get his things. As Aang lay there on the ground, Jeong Jeong stood over him, giving him a disapproving stare before he marched off into the forest.

"Hey, get up," Rin said, grabbing Aang and pulling him to his feet. "Go pack up your things, and if the water boy didn't get them, Katara's things too. I'll go get the water girl."

"Okay," Aang said, sniffling as he ran off back to the hut. Rin took off into the forest, in the direction that Katara had run off.

_It's just a burn, it can't be so bad. Why did you have to run off like this? _Rin had experienced major and minor burns over her travels, from the likes of firebenders to campfires, and she had handled most of them pretty well. Katara, on the other hand, didn't seem to be able to handle being burnt.

"Finally," Rin muttered, finding a set of footprints in the forest floor. She followed the trail through the forest, which led her directly to another part of the riverbank - and into Katara.

"Hey!" Rin shouted as their collision was prevented by a quick sidestep. "Don't run off like that. I have bandages, you know."

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine," Katara said, holding up her hands, which were now covered in streaks of delicate new skin.

"Well, you were crying like a baby a minute ago. What happened?" Rin asked.

"I stuck my hands into the water, and they started healing themselves," Katara explained. "Oh, and Jeong Jeong is holding off Zhao and his firebenders! We need to get back now!"

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Rin shouted, sprinting back through the forest with Katara. They made it back to the huts, where Sokka was loading everything onto Appa.

"Katara! Are you okay?" He asked, jumping down from Appa.

"I'm fine. We need to get out of here," Katara replied. "Where's Aang?"

"Down there," Sokka said, pointing down to Jeong Jeong's hut. Katara ran down to get him, while Rin running after her. They entered the hut, where Aang was sitting behind a row of candles.

"Jeong Jeong told me that I wasn't ready, and I didn't listen," he muttered. "I'm never going to firebend again."

"You'll have to learn eventually," Katara said.

"No. Never again," Aang muttered.

"Are you still worried about Katara?" Rin asked. "She's healed, don't worry."

"Really?" Aang asked, turning around. "How?"

"I'll explain later," Katara said. "Right now, we have to go. Zhao and his soldiers are attacking."

"What? Where?" Aang asked, jumping to his feet.

"By the riverbank. They've captured Jeong Jeong," Katara explained.

"I have to help him!" Aang shouted, running out the door. Rin and Katara followed him outside, where they saw him rushing off into the forest.

"I'm going to go with Aang," Katara said, running off in Aang's direction before Rin grabbed her by the back of her collar.

"Nope. You've gone through enough today, seeing that this is the first time you've been burned this badly," Rin declared. "Besides, the Avatar can probably take care of himself."

"Wait, how did you know this was my first time being burned?" Katara asked.

"You cried like a bitch and ran off," Rin explained. "I assumed that you've probably never been burned before, at least like this."

"Hey!" Katara shouted. "What did you call me?"

"What? It's true," Rin said, heading back up to Appa. Katara reluctantly followed behind her as they climbed onto Appa's saddle, where Sokka was waiting.

"Let's hope you're right about Aang," Katara said.

"You tell me, you know him better," Rin replied as they watched plumes of fire spring up from the river, far away in the distance.

* * *

><p>"There he is!"<p>

Upon hearing Katara's shout, Rin looked down towards the forest, seeing Aang sprinting towards them. "Wait up!" he called, waving to the group.

"Let's go!" Sokka yelled as Aang jumped onto Appa's head. They immediately took off, leaving the forest behind them.

"Wait, where's Jeong Jeong?" Aang asked

"He disappeared. They all did," Sokka explained, looking down at the hideout, which was completely devoid of people. As the ascended into the sky, Katara noticed something on Aang's arm.

"Aang, you're burned," she said, pointing towards a red blotch on Aang's forearm. "Here, let me get that for you." She pulled a globe of water from her waterskin and molded it over her hands, before placing them over Aang's burn. The water glowed white and, after a few seconds, dripped away, leaving a patch of new skin.

"Wow," Aang muttered. "Where did you learn that?"

"I guess I always knew," Katara replied. "Now let me heal your arm. You still have the gash from the shirshu."

"Oh, so you always knew, huh?" Sokka asked as he unwrapped the bandages around his arm to reveal that the gash had scabbed over. "Well, thanks for all the first aid over the years. Like when I fell into the greaseberry bramble! Or when I had two fishhooks stuck in my thumb!"

"Two fishhooks?" Aang asked.

"He tried to get the first hook out with another one," Katara explained with a giggle, wrapping Sokka's arm in a veil of glowing water.

"Sokka, I'm not sure whether to consider you as competent or stupid," Rin muttered. "You always have me thinking that you're one, then you switch back to the other."

"I'm done here," Katara said, collecting the water back into a globe. The scab on Sokka's arm slipped off, revealing a streak of new skin. "Rin, let me get your leg."

"Fine," Rin muttered, unwrapping the bandages around her leg. However, once the bandages came off, she was surprised to find that, instead of a large scab down her leg, there was already newly formed skin where the gash should have been. The only evidence that she had gotten hurt was dried clumps of blood clinging to the bandages. "Wait, did you ever heal me before?"

"No, I just found out that I could heal a few minutes ago," Katara said. "Maybe you didn't get hit as badly as Sokka was."

"Maybe," Rin muttered. It was the best explanation, but for some reason, she felt that it wasn't the truth. She shook off the feeling, knowing that it was better to appreciate good fortune rather than question where it came from. Looking back, she watched the forest fade away into the distance as they soared onward, towards the North Pole.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: We're getting close to the North Pole and the end of first book! I have things planned, don't worry. Also, I have no experience with being drunk or having a hangover, so if you have experience and find that the contents of this chapter are inaccurate, I'd like to know. **

**Please review, and if you liked the story, follow/favorite. It lets me know that my story is being read and appreciated.**


	7. The Northern Air Temple

**A few notes:**

**1) I'm so sorry for taking two months to post this chapter. Finals and final projects started up, then a trip to China where google is blocked (I keep everything on google drive). Additionally, this chapter was kind of hard to work with. I hope you don't mind the delay, and that you're satisfied with the final product.**

**2) Thanks to DreadingTheDayWhenYou'reGone (Author of, among other things, the Alone trilogy, an Avatar fanfic that I remember reading way back when I started reading fanfiction). He's helping me to revise my story, and has gone through the first few chapters already.**

**3) Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited. It's nice to see that people like my story, and want to see more of it. Special thanks to RaphaelplusMikey for helping to make Rin's drunk experience more accurate.**

**4) I completely rewrote the first chapter so that it's entirely from Rin's perspective. It's the last time I'll change the first chapter, I promise. The plot is the same, but if you want to read a bit more new writing from me, go ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender in any way. I'm not even sure if I own Rin.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: The Northern Air Temple<p>

After traveling for a few days on Appa, the group found the climate around them growing colder. The terrain slowly turned from forests to tundras, and snow occasionally fell from the clouds. One particular night, the group found a small campsite where a local was telling a story to a small group of people. Aang led Appa down and the group of four sat down and listened.

"...so the next time you think you hear a large bird talking, take a closer look," the storyteller said, waving his arms for dramatic effect. "It may not be a giant parrot, but a flying man! A member of a secret group of air walkers who laugh at gravity and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!"

"Airbender stories are the greatest," Aang said as the storyteller started to go around the audience for money.

"Was it realistic?" Katara asked.

"Yup! I laugh at gravity all the time," Aang said before letting out a small chuckle. "Heh, gravity."

"Jingle jingle!" the storyteller said as he came around to their group, shaking his coin-filled hat. Sokka reached around his parka for a moment before coming up with a few crumbs and, to Rin's disgust, a beetle.

"Seriously? Here, I'll do it," Rin muttered, pulling a few coins from her pocket and throwing them into the hat. The storyteller gave her a smile and went on past the group.

"Huh, you're actually being generous. That's new," Katara said.

"Not really. That was your money," Rin replied with a smirk.

"Wait, what? " Katara asked.

"Eh, Water Tribe money is near useless in the Earth Kingdom," Rin explained. "Better to use it on some random storyteller; it's not like he's going to complain."

"First of all, that isn't justification to take what's not yours!" Katara argued, furrowing her brow. "Second, we're going to the Northern Water Tribe! They'll accept those coins!"

"Think for a second," Rin said. "This is the Avatar, and if I remember correctly, you and your brother are children of the chief of the Southern Water Tribe. You're practically prince and princess. You think that they won't provide for the Avatar and representatives from their sister tribe? They're pretty much obliged to give you food and shelter, and I'll just be along for the ride. Shit, I'll bet you five coppers that we're going to get a feast when we arrive."

"I guess that's true..." Katara muttered, just as Aang ran up to the rest of the group with a wide grin and an eager face.

"Guess what, guys! I talked to the storyteller, and he said that there are some airbenders at the Northern Air Temple!" he explained. "We should go see if they're really there!"

"If they haven't been around for a hundred years, I doubt that they're gonna pop up today," Rin muttered.

"Well, Katara and Sokka found me hiding in an iceberg after a hundred years. Maybe the other airbenders were hiding too," Aang suggested.

"You're the Avatar, that's an exception. And how did they find you, anyways?" Rin asked.

"Katara exploded an iceberg," Sokka explained.

"Seriously? What else happened before I joined you guys?" Rin asked.

"It's a long story; we'll tell you tomorrow," Aang said. "When we're going to the Northern Air Temple!"

"The North Pole is only a day away," Rin argued. "Shouldn't we be going there?"

"This is the first time we've heard that any airbenders survived besides Aang," Katara explained. "We should go and check it out."

"Fine, we'll go to the temple," Rin sighed. "But afterwards, we're heading straight to the North Pole."

* * *

><p>"... and we flew off, leaving Jet frozen to a tree."<p>

"Wow," Rin muttered. "That guy's... impressive, in the wrong way."

"I know, right?" Sokka said. "He was a psychopath. I can't believe we trusted him."

"Actually, if he were tuned down a bit, I could see him leading troops into the Fire Nation. From what you've told me, he's ruthless and cunning. Perfect for a war leader," Rin said.

"He'd just go killing everyone, not just soldiers," Sokka argued.

"I guess, though that's why I said he'd have to be tuned down a bit," Rin said before turning to Aang. "Hey, how long 'till we get to the temple?"

"We're almost there!" Aang called from Appa's head. "This is where they had the championships for sky bison polo!"

"It's just clouds!" Rin called back. "How are you supposed to tell?"

"I just know!" Aang shouted, just as the clouds cleared away to reveal the temple. It sat on the peak of a snowy mountain, with towers and ledges jutting out of the side. While it looked fairly old, some of the buildings seemed to be new and different from the rest of the structure, with smokestacks rising into the air. Rin could see people flying around and over the temple on large, green gliders.

"They really are airbenders!" Katara exclaimed, crawling over to the front of the saddle to get a closer look.

"No, they're not," Aang muttered, folding his arms in disappointment.

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked. "They're flying!"

"Gliding, not flying," Aang said. "You can tell by the way they move, they're not airbending. Those people have no spirit."

"So you have to be an airbender to have spirit? How did you come to that?" Rin asked, just before she saw something coming closer in the corner of her eye. When she looked, she saw a boy flying towards them, laughing cheerfully as he sat in a seat suspended from a green glider. She and the others ducked as the boy flew overhead, still laughing.

"I don't know, that kid seems pretty spirited to me," Katara said. The boy flew out in front of Appa and looked back towards Aang with a grin. Aang seemed to see it as a challenge, because he suddenly unfolded his glider and jumped from Appa, following the boy.

"Hey! Don't just leave us here!" Rin shouted, jumping from the saddle and taking the bison's reins. As she dodged a glider, she heard Katara shout from the saddle.

"Everything okay?" Rin shouted, not bothering to turn around as she pulled away from another glider.

"We're fine!" Sokka shouted back. "Find some solid ground before it finds us!"

"You try flying this thing!" Rin shouted, trying to pull the bison towards a large courtyard. After a few flyovers, she finally managed to direct Appa to the ground, where they were safe from the people gliding above.

"Solid ground!" Sokka cried, jumping off the saddle and hugging the stone courtyard as Rin and Katara climbed down after him. As Rin looked around, she noticed a crowd gathered at the edge of the courtyard, watching Aang and the boy fly around each other.

"Looks like the Avatar's showing off," Rin mumbled as Aang let go of his glider, running along a wall before jumping back on. The crowd gasped as they watched him shoot back into the air, just behind the other boy in the green glider. Suddenly, smoke started pouring out from the back of the boy's glider.

"Well, that seems bad," Katara muttered. "Is that glider broken?"

"I don't think so. The smoke's coming out of a bottle in the back," Sokka pointed out. Indeed, the black plumes of smoke were pouring out of a container attached to the back of the boy's seat rather than from a malfunction of the glider. Now that Rin thought of it, the entire glider was made of wood and cloth. There was no machines to catch on fire. Suddenly, Rin heard cheering from the crowd.

"Seriously..." Rin muttered, staring at the sky. The boy had used the smoke to draw Aang's face in the clouds. The two flew down into the courtyard with the boy landing next to the crowd and Aang landing next to Appa.

"Don't go flying off on your own," Rin said to Aang. "We had nobody controlling the bison for a moment, and there were gliders everywhere."

"Sorry," he replied, just as the boy he was flying with rolled up in a wheelchair.

"Wow, you're a real airbender!" he exclaimed. "That means you're the Avatar! I've heard stories about you; you're the greatest! I'm Teo. It's an honor to meet you."

"Thanks," Aang replied with a grin. Sokka ran over to Teo's chair and started looking at the various contraptions attached to it.

"This glider chair is incredible!" Sokka exclaimed.

"If you think that's impressive, you should see what else my dad's designed," Teo replied, heading off into the temple. The group followed him and saw an incredible sight: the room was filled with pipes, lifts, and pulleys, extending from the ceiling to the ground. Various contraptions scattered around the room were doing complex tasks, using machinery that Rin could never hope to figure out.

"My dad is the mastermind behind this whole place," Teo explained. "Everything runs on hot air. We even pump it outside to create thermals for gliding."

"This place is unbelievable," Aang said, looking up at the machinery.

"It's great, isn't it?" Teo asked.

"No. Just unbelievable," Aang muttered, walking away to observe the area.

"Aang used to come here a long time ago," Katara explained. "I guess he's just shocked that things are so... different."

"And so much better!" Sokka exclaimed, running off to examine the machines.

"I don't understand how any of this works, but I think some of this is kinda unnecessary," Rin said, pointing to one of the pressure lifts, which went up to a walkway a few meters above the floor. Off to the side was an abandoned staircase, obviously neglected in favor of the lifts.

"I think we should go check on Aang," Katara said, following the Avatar further into the temple. Rin followed her, and they found Aang in front of a contaminated fountain. The water was green, and a statue of a sky bison in the middle of the water was dirty and stained. Putrid gases spewed out of the statue's mouth, fouling the air.

"This place was supposed to be the history of my people," Aang said, looking up at the statue.

"It's probably not all like this," Katara assured, placing her hand on Aang's shoulder. "I'm sure there are some parts of the temple that are the same."

"I doubt it," Rin muttered. "These guys have been here for quite a bit of time. I'm pretty sure they've gone through the entire temple by now."

"Rin, be quiet!" Katara whisper-shouted, pulling Rin away from Aang. "This place is important to him. Be respectful."

"Hey, it's the truth," Rin muttered. Katara gave her a nasty glare before going back to Aang, who was still looking into the fountain. Rin followed behind her.

"Let's go explore the temple," Katara suggested. Instead of saying anything, Aang simply nodded, following Katara as she went off into the temple. Rin was about to follow but realized that they were forgetting someone.

"Sokka?" Rin called, trying to find the boy among the machines. After a few moments, she found him examining a large, noisy contraption by the entrance.

"Come on, we're going!" Rin shouted over the clangs and hisses of the machine.

"Give me a second!" Sokka shouted back. He leaned over to look into a pipe and was met with a blast of smoke.

"Gah!" he shouted, recoiling away from the machine. His face was covered by black soot, and his hair was blown back as if he had been caught in a windstorm.

"Stop playing around and get over here!" Rin shouted one final time before turning around and heading to where Katara and Aang had left. She stifled a snicker at Sokka's misfortune.

* * *

><p>After wandering around for a few minutes, the group found a small, circular courtyard surrounded by a large wall. Lining the edge of the courtyard were statues of what seemed to be airbender monks.<p>

"It's nice to see one part of the temple that isn't ruined," Aang said, looking up at the statues.

"See? Not everything's changed," Katara said to Rin, who let out a quiet growl. Suddenly, she noticed a man off to the side waving his arms.

"Look out!" he shouted, pointing at the wall. Suddenly, an entire section of the wall fell towards the group, along with one of the many statues. Everybody leapt out of the way, avoiding a giant stone ball that came crashing through the rubble.

"What was that?" Rin shouted, reaching back to draw her hatchet. However, what came through the destroyed wall wasn't an enemy, but a group of construction workers, led by an odd looking, balding man wearing what looked like an apron. Behind them was a large, wooden contraption that had swung the stone ball.

"What the doodle? Don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites?" the man lectured, waving his finger. "We need to make room for the bathhouse!"

"Do you know what you did?!" Aang shouted, raising his staff. "You destroyed something sacred for a stupid bathhouse!"

"Well, people around here are starting to stink," the man said, fanning his nose as if he had smelled something bad.

"This whole place stinks!" Aang yelled, suddenly jumping into the air and shooting a blast of air forwards. The attack blew past the construction workers and hit the contraption behind them, blasting it off the cliff and down the mountain.

"Aang, what the heck!" Rin shouted. "Was that necessary?!"

"That machine destroyed a part of my history and culture!" Aang shouted back before turning to the construction workers and the man. "This is a sacred temple, you can't treat it this way! I've seen it when the monks were here, I know what it's supposed to look like."

"The monks? But you're twelve!" the man exclaimed, rubbing his chin.

"Dad, he's the Avatar," Teo explained. "Aang used to come here a hundred years ago."

"What are you doing?" Aang asked. "Who said that you could be here?"

"Hmm... a long time ago, but not a hundred years, my people became refugees after a terrible flood destroyed our village," the man explained. "My infant son, Teo, was badly hurt and lost his mother. We needed somewhere to rebuild, and we stumbled across this temple. We couldn't believe it! All along the walls were paintings and statues of flying people! But it was empty. Nobody was there. Then, we came across these wonderful, fan-like contraptions!"

"Our gliders," Aang said.

"Yes! Little flying machines!" the man exclaimed, waving his arms up and down. "They gave me an idea: build a new life for my son, in the air! Then everyone will be on equal ground, so to speak. We're just improving upon what's already here. After all, isn't that what nature does?"

"Nature knows when to stop," Aang argued.

"That's true... but progress has a way of getting away from us," the man admitted before turning to the side. "Oh, would you look at the time! We must oil the pulley system before dark!"

What's he talking about? Rin wondered, following the man's gaze. She saw a large candle burning off to the side with layers going up the body of the candle.

"Why are you burning a candle in the middle of the day?" Rin asked before coming to a sudden realization. "Wait, are you telling time with that?"

"And how does that work? The notches are all the same!" Sokka added.

"Just watch," the man instructed, leaning towards the candle. Suddenly, the flame flared out four times, accompanied with four short bangs.

"You put spark powder in the candle! That's genius!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Four flashes. That means four hours past midday," the man explained. "Or as I like to call it, four o' candle!"

Rin sighed at the man's joke, but Sokka seemed to find it funny, since he was laughing like a seal.

"If you like that, you should see my finger-safe knife sharpener! It only took me three tries to get it right," the man continued, holding up his left hand, which Rin saw had three wooden fingers. With his other hand, he pulled out the fake fingers and threw them at Sokka.

"Augh!" the boy shouted in disgust, throwing up the fingers and stepping back. The man walked past him and tapped him on the shoulder, indicating for Sokka to follow him.

"Hey Aang, I want to show you something," Teo said, heading off into the temple. Aang and Katara went to follow him. Aang stopped and turned back towards Rin, who was standing in place.

"You coming?" He asked.

"Uh... I'll go with Sokka," Rin replied before going the other way, down the stairs where Sokka and the bald man had gone. However, she soon found herself in a maze of hallways and rooms, without any indication as to where the two had gone. While wandering around, she passed by one of the construction workers who had taken down the wall.

"Hey, do you know where that bald guy is? The wheelchair kid's dad?" Rin asked.

"I'm not sure, but I believe he should be in his office," the man replied, pointing down the hall. "Just go down there, take a right, take the lift down, and you should be there."

"Got it," Rin said, following the man's instructions. She found the lift he was talking about, which consisted of a circular platform with guardrails and a small roof. The top of the lift connected to a rope, which led to a complex pulley system. The lift looked like it couldn't fit more than a few people.

_So how does this work?_ Rin wondered, stepping onto the circle. The platform was slightly wobbly, but stable enough, considering that it was suspended by a single rope. Off to the side was a lever, which Rin assumed operated the system. She pulled the lever downward, and a sudden jolt went through the lift.

"Shit," Rin muttered, grabbing onto the guardrail as the lift suddenly dropped downwards. After a few seconds the bottom of the lift hit the floor, causing the impact to reverberate through Rin's body. She released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and stepped off the lift.

_How the people here got used to that, I'll never know,_ Rin thought. Ahead of her was a wooden door. She walked up and turned the knob, but it was locked.

"It's been a long time since I've done this," Rin mumbled, taking her bag from her back and digging through, eventually coming up with a small metal pin. Kneeling down, she stuck the pin into the lock, poking and twisting for a few seconds. A click came from the lock, giving Rin a small feeling of triumph.

_That was easier than I remember it being._ She twisted the now-compliant doorknob and found what looked like an office room with a large desk pushed to the side. A large shelf was filled to the brim with papers and contraptions, as was the surface of the desk. Larger designs were scattered around the room. A window on the wall overlooked the side of the mountain. As she looked around, she heard two voices approaching the room. It was Sokka and the bald man.

"How did you figure out there were gas leaks in the first place, if you didn't know how to find the gas?"

"Well, I came down one day, and I found holes in the sealant. However, the basement is dark and pretty far down, and it takes a while to gather so many fireflies, so... huh, I don't remember leaving my door open."

The two entered to room to see Rin standing there, looking directly at them. "Oh, it's just Rin. How'd you get here?" Sokka asked.

"I followed you guys down here and the door was unlocked, so I just came in," Rin claimed.

"Hm, I remember locking it on my way out..." the bald man muttered, before looking up and grinning. "Oh well, maybe my age is just catching up to my brain. I need to work on some designs."

The two teenagers started to look around the room as the bald man walked over to his desk. Rin poked around for a few moments before Sokka tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, what do you think this is?" he whispered, pointing to a metal box sitting against the wall that reached up to their knees. The object was bare on all sides, except for a small slot and a button on the top.

"I dunno," Rin muttered, crouching down. She pushed the button, and the box whirred for an instant before going silent again. After rubbing her chin for a moment, she reached into her bag and drew out a knife, placing it into the slot and hitting the button again. This time, there was a grinding sound as the box and knife started vibrating intensely. "I think this is the finger safe knife sharpener he was talking about."

"Huh, that's pretty cool," Sokka said, reaching out for the knife. Suddenly, it shot upwards out of the slot, barely missing his fingers as it drove itself into the ceiling. "Okay, I think I figured out how he lost his fingers."

"Hey, don't touch that! In fact, don't touch anything here. My designs are very delicate," the man shouted from his desk. Rin jumped up and picked her knife out of the ceiling, then heard crashing behind her. Sokka was holding some sort of balloon in his arms, crying out as a rack of scrolls fell onto his head.

"I told you not to touch anything!" the man shouted, walking over and grabbing the balloon while Sokka knelt down to clean up the mess. "Well that experiment's old, and the egg in there was part of last week's lunch."

"Eww, week old egg smell!" Sokka exclaimed, pinching his nose and grimacing.

"Quick, find that egg!" the man ordered, getting down on all fours and searching the room with Sokka. Rin remained standing, watching the two scramble across the floor. She had already spotted the egg wedged between the wall and a desk, but decided against telling them. The looks on their faces were entertaining, especially Sokka's.

"Rin, help us find the rotten egg!" Sokka said. "I don't think I can take the smell much longer."

"Why? It doesn't bother me, so I don't really feel a need to find it," Rin replied.

"Seriously? You can't smell that?" Sokka asked.

"Sokka, I've been in swamps full of rotting animals. I've slept in sewers. I've waded through rivers of shit. A rotten egg is nothing," Rin explained.

"Ugh, how can something so small that you can't even see it make such a big stink?" Sokka asked. The man raised his eyebrows and sat up, as if something just blew his mind.

"That's the solution to our problem!" he exclaimed.

"If we put a whole mess of rotten eggs in the cellar..."

"The gas will mix with the rotten eggs!"

"And if there's a leak..."

"You smell rotten eggs! Then you just follow your nose..."

"And plug up the hole where the gas is coming from!"

"YOU'RE A GENIUS!"

"YOU'RE A GENIUS!"

_What the hell just happened?_ Rin wondered as they looked at each other in realization. Suddenly, a bell next to the desk started ringing.

"Something's wrong; I've got to go!" the man shouted, running out the door. Rin and Sokka looked at each other, shrugging.

"Should we follow him?" Rin asked.

"Why not?" Sokka replied, and they ran out the door, following the man. Eventually, they made it to a long hall, where the man was facing Aang, Katara, and Teo. Behind them was a room full of what seemed to be weapons, tools, and contraptions, all with the Fire Nation insignia.

"You're making weapons for the Fire Nation!" Aang shouted, pointing towards the man.

"You were working for the Fire Nation the whole time?!" Sokka asked.

"Explain this!" Teo demanded.

"It was about a year after we moved here," the man muttered. "You were too young to remember it. Fire Nation soldiers found our settlement. They were going to burn everything to the ground! I pleaded and I begged, and they asked me what I had to offer to their nation."

"Your mind," Rin interrupted.

"Yes, I offered them my services as an inventor," the man continued. "Please Teo, you must understand! I did it for you!"

"I... I can't believe... just go away, Dad. I need to think," Teo said, turning away. His dad sighed, then turned around and headed back to his office.

"So, now what?" Rin asked. "Should we destroy all that stuff back there? If the Fire Nation is keeping this guy around, his inventions must be valuable."

"Give me a second. I'm going to go ask him something," Aang replied, running down the corridor, with Teo rolling along behind him. After a few minutes, they came back with disappointed looks on their faces.

"Bad news, guys. We just refused to give the Fire Nation the inventions, and now they're about to attack the temple," Aang explained.

"This is bad," Teo muttered.

"What are we going to do? How can we possibly keep them all away?" Katara asked.

"I think I have a plan..." Rin muttered. "Katara, how much stuff can you bend at once?"

"Uh, maybe... about a wave's worth of water? Why?" Katara asked.

"Huh, that's not going to be enough..." Rin muttered, looking out the window.

"I think I know how we can win," Aang said. "There's something we have that the Fire Nation doesn't, and that's air power. We control the skies, and they can't do that. We can win!"

"I'm here to help," Rin heard Teo's dad say. The group turned, and there he was, smiling at the end of the corridor.

"Great, we'll need it," Aang replied, smiling back.

* * *

><p>They had gathered everyone in the temple to discuss how they would repel the Fire Nation attack. All that Sokka told them was that the Fire Nation was going to attack, without saying anything about the betrayal of Teo's dad.<p>

"We finally got the war balloon working, thanks to Sokka. He's a genius!"

"Thank you, you're a genius!"

"Thank you!"

As Sokka went into some long explanation about the war balloon, Rin tuned out, looking around the room. While everyone was generally fit, they were definitely not ready to fight a battle. _Well, I guess we can just run if things go bad. I don't think we should worry about a few dozen refugees on the top of some mountain._

"So we've got four kinds of bombs: smoke, fire ..." Sokka explained, catching Rin's attention.

"Wait, bombs?" Rin asked. "How powerful? How many?"

"Hey, let me finish," Sokka said. "Anyways, as I was saying, we have smoke, fire, slime, and..."

"Stink!" Teo's dad finished. "Never underestimate the power of stink."

"Never overestimate it either," Rin muttered before turning to Sokka. "So how many bombs do we have? They explode, right?"

"Well, yeah. They're bombs, of course they explode," Sokka replied. "They're decently powerful, and we should have about... how many do we have?"

"About thirty of each type," Teo's dad answered. "Why? Do you need them for something?"

"I think I have a plan to take down the invading army," Rin said. "But it'll need perfect timing, or else it won't work."

"We'll give it a shot. What is it?" Sokka asked.

"Well, there's a lot of snow on the mountain right now, and that's where the Fire Nation will march up," Rin explained, drawing a rough sketch on the table with her finger. "If we bury a bunch of bombs in the snow, it'll cause an avalanche and shove everything off the mountain. If they don't die, they won't be getting up anytime soon. Believe me, I've been caught in one."

"But... won't they die if they fall off the mountain?" Aang argued.

"Urgh... Aang, this is war! Dozens die every day, and this time, it's either us or them!" Rin shouted.

"Hey, calm down!" Katara said. "We can't be arguing now, not when the Fire Nation is coming."

"Thank you, Katara," Sokka said. "Rin, how many bombs do you need?"

"About... a dozen, maybe?" Rin suggested. "Enough to layer the side of the mountain."

"I guess you can take them," Sokka said. "Now, let's go prepare."

* * *

><p><em>Some help would have been nice.<em>

Rin waded through the snow, planting bomb after bomb into the side of the mountain. The rest of the group was in the temple. Aang and Teo were going to lead the gliders, Katara was on resupply duty with Appa, and Sokka was driving the war balloon with Teo's dad.

"Hey Rin, aren't you cold?" Aang called from the temple.

"No. Why?" Rin replied, putting down the last bomb. She had ordered them in a grid pattern to maximize the snowfall.

"You're knee deep in snow, and all you have on is that cloak and tunic underneath," Aang said.

"I guess I just don't feel it," Rin said, climbing back up to the temple. "Now, if I remember correctly, the man said that the bombs should start a chain reaction if they're close enough..."

"They're coming!" Rin heard one of the lookouts shout.

"Are we ready?" Teo asked.

"Almost, but where's Sokka with the war balloon?" Katara asked.

"We'll have to start without him. Let's go!" Aang shouted, jumping onto his glider. He, Teo, and about a dozen other gliders flew into the sky and down below the clouds to meet the enemy while Katara flew after them on Appa. Rin sat down, waiting for something to do.

_I told Aang and Katara to give me a signal when the troops are close. Now I just have to wait..._

After about a minute, Aang emerged from the clouds, flying towards Rin. "They're close! Do your thing!"

"Got it!" Rin shouted back, grabbing a firebomb and lighting it. She immediately threw it onto the snow, right in the middle of her bombs. _Please let this work..._

_BOOOM!_

The snow exploded, and the side of the mountain was white for an instant. Then, as if it were a liquid, the snow started flowing down the mountain. Rin smirked, glad that her plan worked, then turned to Aang as the snow fell over the side. "How is it down there?"

"The avalanche got a lot of soldiers, but there are more coming up the mountain! There are tanks coming, too!" Aang called, before diving back under the clouds.

_So there's backup coming... the chances of us winning are bad,_ Rin thought, watching as tanks and troops advanced up the mountain. Aang and Katara landed to try and fight them off. As Rin watched, one of the kids from the temple came up to her and tapped her back.

"Are we going to be safe?" the boy asked, almost pleadingly. "Can we stay here?"

"Honestly? You should probably go find a glider and head down the mountain," Rin replied. "This place is about to burn to ashes."

"But this is our home!"

"Better away from home than dead in it, kid. Now go away, I'm thinking," Rin muttered as the kid started to tear up. He ran away, just as Aang, Katara, and Teo came up to the temple.

"We're out of bombs!" Teo shouted.

"Come on, Sokka... where's that war balloon?" Katara pleaded just as a giant red balloon rose up next to her, carrying the Fire Nation insignia and four large sacks of slime. Sokka and Teo's dad were in the basket, tinkering with whatever mechanisms made the balloon fly. As the flew over the Fire Nation army, the slime was dropped, splattering all over the soldiers and tanks.

"Was that supposed to win us the battle?" Rin muttered as the tanks and troops continued up the slope. Suddenly, she noticed Sokka messing with the engine of the balloon.

_Hey, what are you... did you just throw that overboard? Wasn't that your engine? And... what's that smell? Is that-_

_KABOOOOOOOOM!_

The entire mountain suddenly erupted into flames, shrouding the temple with smoke. Ear-shattering explosions rang out for a few seconds before fading away into a ringing noise stuck in Rin's ears.

"Sokka, what the hell did you -" Rin shouted before looking over the edge towards what remained of the mountain. "Oh, shit."

"They're retreating!" Rin heard someone say, and indeed, the Fire Nation was backing off. Not because they were losing the fight, but because the entire mountainside had been blown away. There was no path for the troops to climb, no ledges for the tanks to grapple onto. Everyone behind Rin was cheering, but she was more focused on the now engineless balloon.

"We're going down!" Sokka shouted as the balloon, which was now partly collapsed, started dropping down the mountain. Aang immediately jumped down to rescue them, ducking beneath the clouds once again.

"Is he going to be okay?" Katara asked.

"I dunno," Rin replied. "Depends on how fast the Avatar is."

After an anxiously long minute, Aang came back up from the clouds with Sokka and Teo's dad hanging by a rope. Finally, everyone was safe, and the battle was over.

* * *

><p>"Can we get going already? Sokka's already up here," Rin shouted down to the rest of the group. After the battle, everyone started celebrating their victory against the Fire Nation, but she and Sokka were already on Appa.<p>

"We need to get to the North Pole," Sokka said. "We're almost there, and if the Fire Nation's already here, Zuko won't be far behind. The Northern Water Tribe will be safe."

"I agree, let's go," Katara replied, climbing up into the saddle. Aang jumped up onto Appa's head, and after a quick "Yip Yip," they were off into the air. Once they were away from the temple, Rin looked out over the clouds, away from the group.

"Is something wrong?" Aang asked.

"Nothing," Rin replied. "It's just... I have a bad feeling about something."

"What is it?" Katara asked.

"Well, something just occurred to me. Aang, you refused to give over the inventions to the Fire Nation earlier today, right?" Rin asked.

"Well, yeah," Aang answered.

"And they attacked just a few hours later. That means that they already had a small army waiting nearby. I doubt that being ready to attack a small refugee dugout would be high on their priority list, so why would they have that many troops so far north?" Rin asked.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence?" Sokka suggested. "Like they have an outpost nearby or something. Or maybe they needed a bunch of people to transport the stuff. You saw the war balloon; it was huge!"

"True," Rin muttered. "Maybe I'm just overthinking things. Whatever, let's just get to the North Pole. I'm tired."

And so they traveled on to their next destination.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, and I would appreciate it if you left a review and let me know what you think of the story, or what you want from it. Right now, one of the many things that I'd like feedback on is the swearing. Do you like it, or would you rather have it removed? Note that I don't use "hell," even though I would like to, since I believe the Avatarverse doesn't have a hell or underworld (if there were, Zhao would have gone there). Because if this, the main swears used will be "fuck" and "shit." I like to use curse words to add to character, but if you guys don't like it, I can tone it down or remove it. Reader feedback is awesome, and it always helps me improve, so don't hesitate to review, and if you see a typo or error, don't be afraid to tell me. Again, I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, but I hope you like it and will stay for future chapters. Have a nice day.<strong>


	8. The Northern Water Tribe

**I'm back! A few things:**

**1) Thanks to those who reviewed, it really makes me feel great to see that people read my story. Notes to some individuals who reviewed:**

**Redleafs16, thank you for the reviews, both for the praise and criticism. I've taken your feedback into consideration, and you'll probably see it take some effect in the story (maybe not this chapter, but definately later in the story). Again, thank you, and I'm glad that you've taken the time to read this in one go as well as review every chapter (your reviews have more than doubled my review count).**

**To those who gave feedback about the use of cussing in the story, I will (probably) tone down the swearing, meaning that Rin won't swear every other sentence. However, I won't remove it.**

**Even if you don't leave a review, I thank you for reading my story. Seeing the little view counter go up always gives me a good feeling. Of course, don't let that discourage you from leaving a review.**

**2) Thanks again to ****DreadingTheDayWhenYou'reGone for helping to revise this story. I don't do much proofreading, so it's a great help.**

**3) The chapter title doesn't match the episode title. This is because, with my past chapters, the title of the episode generally matched up with what the plot of the chapter was about. However, in this chapter, "The Waterbending Master" won't have much relevance to what I write. I'll use the same logic for future chapters (for example, I probably won't have a chapter called "Appa's Lost Days" or "The Avatar and The Firelord"). I'm actually thinking about using original titles for every chapter, depending on where this story goes.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: The Northern Water Tribe<strong>

"I think I have a spare parka around here," Katara muttered, glancing at Rin on Appa. They were almost to the Northern Water Tribe, and the temperature was plummeting noticeably. "Let me check my bag."

"For the last time Katara, I'm not cold," Rin sighed. She looked over the side of the saddle, watching the endless expanse of ocean under her. Of course, she didn't expect anything different. Not after they had been sitting in Appa's saddle for, well, who knows how long, skimming over the water as they made their way north. Although the air was slightly chilly, it wasn't enough to make Rin uncomfortable.

"Rin, Sokka and I have lived at the South Pole for most of our lives, and it's cold enough for us to wear parkas," Katara argued. "All you have is a tunic and that cloak."

"It's enough," Rin argued back. "And Aang is wearing less than me; why aren't you trying to get him to wear anything?"

"He's got some sort of hocus-pocus airbender magic or something," Sokka said. "Apparently he doesn't get cold, even back at the South Pole."

"And you're not an airbender, so put this on," Katara said, pulling a dark blue parka from her bag and throwing it into Rin's arms.

"Fine," Rin muttered. She put the bottom of the parka over her head and pulled herself through, ending up with a face full of fur.

"Uh, Rin? It's the other way," Katara said.

"I knew that," Rin mumbled, twisting the parka around and pushing her arms through the sleeves. The inside was lined with what seemed to be some sort of fur, probably from a tiger seal. What mattered was it was warm, although a bit itchy. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Next time, let us help you before you freeze to death," Katara said. Rin was about to correct her and insist that she was fine without the parka, but she decided to let it slide.

"How're our supplies looking?" Rin asked.

"Rin, I already told you, we have enough food," Sokka groaned. "The refugees at the temple gave us more than enough to reach the Northern Water Tribe."

"Just making sure," Rin said.

"Well, that's the third time you've 'made sure' today. Why do you keep asking?" Sokka asked.

"We're over the ocean, with nowhere to restock. I just want to make sure that we don't starve," Rin explained.

"Well, we aren't," Sokka said, leaning his head over the side of the saddle. He was immediately sprayed by freezing water as Appa skimmed over the ocean. "Gah! Aang, can't Appa fly any higher?"

"I have an idea!" Aang shouted back towards Sokka. "How about we all get on your back and you fly us to the North Pole!"

"Gladly!" Sokka huffed, turning around and getting on his knees. "Everyone aboard, Sokka's ready for takeoff!"

"Look, we should just calm down and take a deep breath," Katara suggested. "We're all just a little tired from flying for two days straight."

"Appa's the one doing the flying," Aang said. "We're all just sitting around!"

"Shut it, Avatar," Rin growled. "And I agree with Katara, we should just calm down. All we need to do now is get to the North Pole. It shouldn't be too far off."

"Are you sure? Because all I see is water and a few icebergs. There's nothing out here," Sokka said. Right on cue, Aang yelled, yanking on the reins and swerving Appa to the side.

"What's going on?" Rin shouted.

"Ice!" Aang shouted back, pulling on the reins again. Suddenly, Appa started spinning out, skidding across the water as everyone held on for their lives. As they came to a stop, ice immediately started forming around the bison, trapping him in place. Rin swerved around and saw boats coming out from behind icebergs, moving in to surround them.

_An ambush here, of all places? It's literally the middle of nowhere!_ Rin drew her hatchet from her bag and hid behind the low wall of the saddle, preparing herself for a fight. However, the reaction of the two siblings was much different.

"We did it!" Sokka shouted. "They're waterbenders! We found the Northern Water Tribe!"

"And what a warm welcome they gave us," Rin muttered, putting her hatchet away after a look from Katara.

* * *

><p>After a quick apology, the tribes people offered to escort the group to the Northern Water Tribe. Sokka, Katara, and Aang were excited to finally see the city, and surprisingly, Rin felt a bit excited as well.<p>

_Maybe it's because we've succeeded in something. We got to the North Pole. I usually don't have to succeed in anything other than not getting caught._ And then, as the fabric of the parka rubbed against her, she thought, _Huh_,_ this parka is feeling kinda warm._

"There it is!" Aang shouted, interrupting Rin's thoughts. As she looked up, she saw a massive, smooth wall of ice, complete with watchtowers and a giant symbol signifying that they had reached the Water Tribe. As they approached the wall, the waterbenders on the boats created a passageway, giving the group an entrance into the city.

"Wow," Sokka muttered as they passed under the wall. The entire thing was built out of solid, packed ice, most likely by master waterbenders. On the other side of the wall was a giant gate attended by a large group of waterbenders.

"I can't believe how many waterbenders live up here!" Katara exclaimed as the gate came down.

"We'll find us a master for sure," Aang said. Once the gate was fully dropped, only then was the group able to see the full size of the city. Buildings of ice rose up in front of them, lined with a system of waterways and bridges.

"This place is way bigger than home," Sokka said.

"Shit, it's probably bigger than Omashu," Rin replied, observing the buildings around them. Never before had she seen so much ice, much less see it used as a building material. As they were guided through the streets by a group of waterbenders on a raft, people started to come out of their homes. Soon, everyone was lining the waterways and bridges, watching as the Avatar went by. Aang waved back to the crowd with a huge grin on his face. Out of the corner of her eye, Rin couldn't help but notice Sokka getting up and walking down Appa's tail.

"This place is beautiful," Katara remarked.

"Yeah, she is..." Sokka said. Rin turned around and caught Sokka staring further back down the waterway. Following his gaze, she spotted another boat, which seemed to be carrying a teenage, purple-robed girl with white hair.

"Sokka, get back up here. You can make lady friends after we settle down," Rin said.

"Aww... fine," Sokka replied, making his way back up to the saddle. Rin could still make out the blush in his cheeks. She looked over at Katara, who seemed to have noticed the ordeal. After a few more minutes of navigating the waterways, the group was led to a large ice hut near what seemed to be some sort of palace where they were indicated to get off.

"This will be your home during your stay in our tribe," one of the waterbenders explained. "If you need anything, feel free to ask. Also, Chief Arnook would like to invite you to a feast tonight at the palace."

"We'll be there for sure," Aang replied. "Oh, and can we get something for Appa to eat? He's been flying for a long time, and he's kinda hungry. Oh, and he mostly eats plants. Speaking about plants, I'm a vegetarian, so I won't be able to eat any meat at the feast."

"Everything will be taken care of," the same waterbender said.

"That's great; thank you!" Aang said as the waterbenders left. The group grabbed their supplies from Appa's saddle and moved them into the hut. The first thing Rin noticed was that the floor was lined with furs, most likely to keep their feet warm and prevent slipping.

_Speaking of warm... this parka is uncomfortably warm._ Sweat was already starting to form on Rin's neck, the heat was causing an uncomfortable tingling in her back, and the fur lining on the inside made her skin itch. She pulled her arms back out of the sleeves and threw the parka over her head and onto the ground.

"Here you go," Rin called to Katara, picking up the parka and throwing it over.

"Hey!" Katara shouted, catching the parka and throwing it back. "We're at the North Pole! You're surrounded by ice! You're saying that you don't need it?"

"I wouldn't have given it back to you otherwise. It's too warm, and it itches way too much. I'm fine without it," Rin argued, tossing the parka back with more force than before and knocking Katara over.

"Oof!" Katara grunted as she hit the ground before picking herself and her bags from the ground. "Rin, I'm serious about the parka. It's below freezing, and if you don't put it on, you'll freeze in less than a few hours."

"Look, we'll wait until the feast tonight," Rin suggested. "If I don't need it by then, I'm pretty sure I won't need a parka."

"Wait, Rin won't wear her parka?" Sokka asked as he came out of the ice hut. He looked over at Rin for a few seconds, before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh, is it because you're too proud to wear a parka and want to keep that 'cool' and 'mysterious' look with the cloak and hood? Because I guess I can see why, it looks pretty cool. It's all... mysterious and stuff."

"Sokka, the cloak and what's underneath it are the only clothes I have," Rin replied. "Even if I wanted to wear something else, I can't. And about the parka, it feels too warm."

"Well, if Rin doesn't want to wear it, why not let her, well, not wear it?" Sokka suggested to Katara. "I mean, if she's fine without it, everything's good. If she needs it later, she comes back to the hut and gets it."

"I guess that could work..." Katara muttered.

"Then it's all settled. Come on, let's go unpack," Sokka said, and the two girls followed him into the hut.

* * *

><p>After the group unpacked and lounged around for about an hour, a few guards came to escort them to the palace. A brief walk later and they were entering the giant structure made entirely of ice. By then, the sun had just set over the horizon, and people were starting to gather.<p>

"I wonder how many waterbenders it took to make this place," Katara said, marveling at a large fountain.

_I wonder how sturdy this place is,_ Rin thought, placing a hand briefly on a pillar of ice as they moved forward. As they proceeded on, the group was led to the dining area, which consisted of three long tables and a stage in a square formation, leaving an open area in the middle. Up on the highest table, overlooking the dining area, was a man in blue robes.

"You will have seats next to Chief Arnook. He is already waiting for you," their escorts informed them. The group stepped up to the table, and the man stood up to greet them.

"I am Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe."

"I'm Aang, and I'm the Avatar."

"Katara, Southern Water Tribe."

"Sokka, Southern Water Tribe."

"Rin."

"It is an honor to meet the Avatar, as well as our allies from the South," Arnook said, shaking their hands before looking over to Rin. "And where do you come from?"

"Earth Kingdom probably," Rin replied. "Though I don't really go with any nation. For now, I'm with the Avatar."

"She rescued Aang from a Fire Nation fortress," Sokka added. "She's been been a great help since then."

"It's good to know that you have found a dependable ally," Arnook said. "Let us sit down and wait for the feast to start."

Arnook took a seat at the center of the table while the group sat to his left. Aang sat next to Arnook, followed by Rin, Katara, and Sokka. In front of them were plates piled with food, mostly meats and fish with a bit of seaweed here and there. People were starting to file around the tables, and the sky was already starting to darken. Once everyone was inside, drumbeats sounded throughout the room, indicating for everyone to be quiet. Arnook stood up, drawing everyone's attention.

"Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Water tribe!" he announced. "And they have brought someone special with them, someone whom many have believed disappeared from this world until now: the Avatar!"

"I think he forgot about you," Aang whispered to Rin as everyone applauded.

"I'm some random girl from the Earth Kingdom," Rin whispered back. "I don't think I'm really worth mentioning."

"You are sitting up here with the chief, though," Aang argued.

"Eh, maybe they think I'm your bodyguard or something," Rin replied. By then, the applause had faded.

"We also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday. Princess Yue is now of marrying age," Arnook continued, stepping back to reveal the white haired girl from the boat.

"Thank you father," Yue said before turning to the crowd. "May the great spirits of the ocean and the moon watch over us in these troubled times!"

"Now Master Pakku and his students will perform!" Arnook announced as an old man and two younger men stepped up onto the stage and started waterbending. Everyone started to eat their food, including Rin. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yue moving behind her.

_Where's she going... oh, she's sitting next to Sokka. This should be good._

"Hey there. Sokka, Southern Water Tribe," Rin heard Sokka say. She looked up from the fish she was biting into to see Sokka leaning on the table, looking at the princess.

"Nice to meet you," Yue replied, followed by an awkward silence as the two looked around.

"So, uh, you're a princess?" Sokka asked, receiving a nod. "Well, back in my tribe, I'm kind of a prince myself."

"Ha! Prince of what?" Katara teased.

"Technically the South, though that's pretty much prince of a dozen igloos and a bunch of ice," Rin added. She noticed that the water show had finished, and Aang had gone down to talk with the old man who was on stage.

"It's a lot more than that!" Sokka said frantically before turning around. "Do you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation!"

"And failing at it, apparently," Rin mumbled.

"My apologies, Prince Sokka," Katara said sarcastically, adding a bow. Sokka turned back to Yue, who was smiling slightly.

"So it looks like I'm going to be in town for a while, so do you think... well, maybe we could... do an activity together?" Sokka asked.

"Do an activity?" Yue asked, chuckling. Sokka groaned and started stuffing his mouth with food, turning away from Yue in embarrassment.

"Very smooth," Katara remarked.

"I've seen crippled old perverts with better chances than you," Rin added, getting another groan from Sokka. "Don't worry though, I don't think she's put off yet."

"Good news, guys!" Aang said, jumping into the conversation. "Master Pakku's going to train me. Katara, he said that you could come, too!"

"That's great!" Katara replied. "I'll finally be able to learn waterbending from a master!"

"So, what are we going to do while you two are off waterbending?" Rin asked.

"Actually, Rin, I've got an answer to that," Sokka said. "I asked around before the feast, and I found out where warrior training takes place. It's at sunrise tomorrow, and it's only a few minutes away from our hut."

"Why not? Let's do it," Rin replied. There was nothing else to do, and training definitely wouldn't hurt her. Besides, she was part of the war effort now. It was best to get as strong as possible.

* * *

><p><em>She was falling.<em>

_As she fell, she looked around. Water was crashing all around her, battering against her sides. She couldn't see past the water. All she could see was the white water around her, falling. It was cold, but strangely, she wasn't shivering._

_Suddenly, the falling stopped. She crashed down into a pool of water. It was much warmer than when she had been falling. She let the current take her, slowly drifting until she ended up in a small pool. She had been underwater for a few minutes, but the thought of breathing never crossed her mind._

_She looked up, seeing two fish circle around at the surface, one black and one white. Curious, she drifted closer. She felt something connecting the two fish - and whatever it was, it was connected with her as well. She moved closer, reaching out to the two fish. The fish seemed to be emitting a soft glow, slowly intensifying as she drifted closer and closer._

_Just before she touched the fish, everything whited out._

* * *

><p>"Gah!" Rin shouted, sitting up and looking around. It was still dark inside the hut, and everyone else was still asleep. As she calmed down, she noticed that she was sweating buckets.<p>

_Figures that I have a dream about water when I'm drenched in sweat_, Rin thought before noticing a fur blanket covering her legs; the rest of it thrown to the side. _Did Katara do this? That's nice, but it's probably why I'm soaked in sweat. I need water._

In the dark, Rin made out the outline of her bag and grabbed it, digging through and grasping her canteen. She uncapped it and upturned it into her mouth but came up with only a small trickle of water.

_Crap, it must have frozen overnight. Next time, sleep on the canteen._ Regardless, she drank from the small trickle of water until she was satisfied, then capped the canteen and threw it back in her bag. She then made her way outside to see if it was time to leave. Though the sun hadn't come over the horizon yet, the sky was lighter than last night, leading her to believe that sunrise would be soon.

"Well, that's enough evidence for me," Rin muttered, heading back inside. She walked over to Sokka's sleeping bag and kicked it. "Wake up, time to go."

"Hmmmmm..." Sokka mumbled, prompting Rin to kick him again, this time harder. Sokka let out a string of incomprehensible grunts but sat up anyways.

"Urgh... is it time to go already?" Sokka groaned, slowly making his way out of his sleeping bag. He was already wearing his parka.

"Come on, get up and get ready. Sunrise is soon," Rin said, grabbing Sokka's boots and throwing them at him. After a bit more grumbling and groaning, Sokka put on his boots and stood up.

"Ready," Sokka muttered, this time a little more awake.

"Finally, let's go," Rin replied, grabbing her bag and putting it on her back. They left the hut and started walking in the direction of the training area. The sky was still as dark as she had found it before.

"I thought you said it was time to go. Aren't we supposed to be there at sunrise?" Sokka moaned. "It's still dark."

"The sky's starting to light up," Rin replied. "Sunrise is soon."

"How are you so active this early in the morning?" Sokka asked. "We've had, what, four hours of sleep?"

"Time asleep is time doing nothing," Rin explained. "Kind of a philosophy I developed over my travels. The less you sleep, the more you get done."

"It's hard to get stuff done when you're this sleepy," Sokka argued, rubbing his eyes.

"Eh, I don't feel it," Rin admitted, climbing down a large set of stairs carved into the ice. Down below, she saw a group of teenagers gathered in a courtyard and instinctively threw her hood up. "Huh, I think that's the place over there."

"I guess it's just teenagers like us," Sokka observed. As they stepped down to the courtyard, Rin noticed that one of the teenagers, older and taller than the rest of them, was watching them as approached.

"Late arrivals, I see!" he called out.

"What? It's not even sunrise!" Sokka argued.

"I'm in charge of this training, southerner. We start when I say we start," the teenager proclaimed, before turning to the crowd of trainees before him. "Since your friends decided to sleep in, we're all going on a run to wake them up! Let's go!"

A collective groan emitted from the crowd of teenagers as everyone started to follow the older boy, running through the streets of the city. Rin felt everybody glaring at her and Sokka, but they ran along anyways, making sure not to fall behind. She felt a tap on her shoulder and whirled around, instinctively backhanding a smaller boy behind her in the head.

"Ow," the boy said, rubbing his forehead.

"Don't surprise me like that," Rin replied without turning to look at him. "What do you want?"

"You're one of the new guys, right?" the boy asked. "Came with the Avatar?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Rin asked.

"I guess you wouldn't know it then," the boy said between breaths. "But Hahn likes to start us off about half an hour before sunrise. If anyone's late, well, we do stuff like this. Oh, and I don't think I caught your name. I'm Tano."

"Thanks for the tip," Rin muttered. "And the name's Rin. That guy leads the training, right?"

"Yeah. Hahn's a bit older than us, and he's decently high up within the tribe, so he volunteered to train the younger boys," Tano explained. After about half an hour of running, Hahn led the group back to the courtyard, where they stopped. Mostly everyone was panting except for Rin, Hahn, and a few other teenagers, Sokka not included.

"Nothing like a little run to make us feel awake!" Hahn shouted, scanning the group. "Now drop down and give me twenty!"

* * *

><p>After another hour of various strength and endurance exercises, Hahn let the group take a short break. Pretty much everyone was exhausted except for Rin, who was only slightly sore in her muscles.<p>

"Everybody pick sparring partners," Hahn ordered. "I'll be observing. No weapons for now."

"Rin?" Sokka asked.

"Why not?" Rin answered. They, along with all the other pairs, spread out along the courtyard and got into position, ready to spar. It occurred to Rin that she had never seen Sokka fight. The only two times when their little party of four got into a battle, he was either paralyzed or piloting a giant balloon. "Have you done stuff like this before?"

"My father trained me when I was younger, so I know a bit," Sokka explained, looking around. "So, should we start?"

"Ready when you are," Rin replied, bending her knees and bringing her fists up. She adopted a sturdy stance, waiting for Sokka to come at her - which he did, shouting some sort of war cry as he charged with his fist drawn back. Rin ducked backward and to the right, avoiding a straight punch before stepping back to a safe distance. Sokka followed, fist drawn back once again, but this time Rin ducked below the blow and delivered a full-on punch to his solar plexus. Sokka immediately went down, wincing in pain and gasping.

"You okay?" Rin asked, rushing to his side. "Sorry, I forgot this was sparring."

"I'm... fine," Sokka gasped, sitting up. "You're just a lot stronger than you look."

"Hey! I never said you could rest!" Hahn shouted from across the courtyard. "Get moving!"

"You heard him," Rin said, grabbing Sokka's arm and pulling him up. "Ready?"

"Give me a moment," Sokka replied, taking a deep breath. "Ready."

"Then let's continue," Rin said, and the two got into position again. This time, Sokka didn't charge immediately, instead inching his way closer without breaking his stance. Rin slowly started to circle around him, making sure to keep her guard raised.

"So, are we going to fight or what are we doing?" Sokka asked, slowly stepping closer.

"I don't know, I'm waiting for -"

Suddenly, in the middle of her sentence, she rushed Sokka, going low and sweeping his legs from under him. Once he hit the ground, Rin tried to jump on him, but Sokka rolled out of the way.

"That's not fair," Sokka complained as the two quickly stood up. "I was distracted."

"And that's why I attacked," Rin said, leaping towards Sokka. She kicked out with her right leg, but he blocked and countered with a short jab, barely clipping Rin's shoulder. However, Rin used the opportunity to grab Sokka's wrist and pull him towards her, knocking him off balance before grabbing his shirt and slamming him to the ground.

"I win," Rin declared, punching Sokka lightly on the forehead.

"Hmph... where did you learn to fight, anyways?" Sokka asked, getting up.

"I didn't really learn at any single place," Rin explained. "While I was wandering around the kingdom, before I meet you guys, I had to defend myself from other thieves, bandits, and law enforcement. I eventually learned how to fight by myself."

"Really?" Sokka asked. "I trained with my dad, and he's a great warrior, so..."

"Did you actually fight anyone?" Rin asked.

"No," Sokka answered. "Mostly because the only person near my age back at the village was Katara."

"Does she fight?" Rin asked.

"Only with waterbending," Sokka said. Rin nodded and looked around, seeing that everyone was still sparring with each other.

"Okay, we're moving on to weapons now! I don't want to see any of you hurt each other, so go easy!" Hahn shouted over the courtyard. Rin immediately pulled her hatchet from her bag and looked over at Sokka, who was patting around his clothes.

"Sokka, where's your club?" Rin asked.

"Uh, it's somewhere here, let me just find it... yeah, I think I left it at the hut," Sokka admitted, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, go get it!" Rin said. Sokka nodded and ran out of the courtyard, back in the direction of the house. Rin watched him go until he was out of sight, then wandered around, watching everybody else fight. The weapons of the North seemed to be mostly spears and clubs made of animal bones as opposed to her Fire Nation-made hatchet, which was metal and wood. As she started to put away her hatchet, she noticed Hahn approaching her from the side.

"You there, newbie!" he called. "What's your name? Why aren't you sparring? Where's your partner?"

"I'm Rin, and my partner's gone up to get his weapons," Rin explained without turning to meet his eyes.

"Well, you're sparring with me now, Ren," Hahn declared. Rin was about to correct him, but she decided against it. "Everyone, gather around! This is how you use a weapon!"

_He calls me a newbie and immediately wants to spar with me... I think this guy has an ego to fill._ As all of the trainees gathered to watch, Rin immediately noticed something: every trainee was a male. She was the only girl there. _I wouldn't be surprised if they only teach males. Maybe they think I'm a boy because I still have my hood on. Oh well, I have a fight to get to._

"Wait!" Rin heard one of the trainees shout. Out of the crowd came Tano, who took Rin to the side of the courtyard, away from everyone else.

"What is it?" Rin hissed, making sure to keep her hood covering her head.

"Nothing," Tano replied nervously. "Actually, I just wanted to tell you something. Hahn's kind of... well, he likes to do this to us. He picks a fight, and we can't do anything about it because he's the instructor. If he loses, he just gets angry and picks on us later and makes the rest of the day miserable."

"Are you trying to tell me I should lose?"

"Well... yes? It would make training a lot easier for all of us."

"Listen, water boy," Rin growled. "Do you think I care about you?"

"Uh... no?" Tano squeaked, looking around nervously.

"Well, you're right!" Rin shouted, causing Tano to step back. "I don't give a shit about you, your little pack of water boys over there, or your egotistical instructor! If I can't avoid a fight, I'm at least gonna try to win it, so unless you have some Earth Kingdom money you're willing to give up, you can suffer for all I care!"

Rin stomped over back to the crowd, a lot more angry than she was a minute before. Hahn was waiting with a spear in hand, ready to fight. Out of the corner of her eye, Rin saw Sokka coming down the steps with his club and boomerang.

"Rin, I'm back and I got my... what's going on?" he asked.

"Our instructor challenged me to a spar," Rin explained, slowly calming down.

"What? When?"

"When you were gone. When else?"

"Okay, I guess... well, good luck."

"Ready to fight?" Hahn asked, grinning with a confident, almost arrogant look in his eye. "Everybody watch, this is how you use a spear!"

_He hasn't attacked me and I want to kill him already,_ Rin thought as she readied her hatchet. At the same time, she used her other hand to pull a small pouch from her bag and clip it to her waist.

"Ha! You're using that small thing against a spear?" Hahn said, before turning to the crowd of trainees. "Everyone knows that the spear has a much longer reach. Take notes, kids."

"I'd rather use factory-made steel than the bone of some dead animal," Rin retorted. "Let's get started."

"Yaah!" Hahn shouted as he charged forward, stabbing with the spear. Rin dodged back, making sure to keep a safe distance between herself and the point of the spear.

"Stop running, coward!" Hahn shouted as Rin sidestepped and backpedaled from Hahn, dodging every thrust and poke. She reached into the pouch on her waist and started fumbling inside, but rolled to the side as Hahn lunged forward, stabbing the air where Rin's shoulder used to be. Rin could see that Hahn was getting more and more frustrated, trying to land a hit.

_I think this guy is actually trying to hurt me,_ Rin thought, checking on the contents of her pouch. Luckily, nothing had fallen out. After swapping her hatchet to her left hand, she reached in and grabbed a large stone out of the pouch.

"You're an earthbend- ARGH!" Hahn shouted as he was hit in the head by the stone. He stumbled back and clutched his forehead, letting the tip of his spear drop to the ground.

"Nope," Rin muttered under her breath, swapping her hatchet back to her right hand. "Who said that you have to be an earthbender to throw rocks?"

As Hahn recovered from the rock to his head, Rin took the offensive, dashing towards her opponent. Hahn tried to lift his spear towards her, but the angle was off, and Rin simply dashed past and grabbed the spear with her left hand, throwing her hatchet to the ground with her right. With a grunt, she grabbed both hands onto the spear and snapped it in two while simultaneously kicking Hahn in the stomach. The boy tumbled across the ice of the courtyard before coming to a halt. Everyone was silent.

"Wait..." Rin heard someone say. "You're a girl?"

_Oh shit_, Rin thought, checking her hood. It had fallen off during the fight, revealing her face and hair. A slow murmuring made its way through the crowd as Hahn got up.

"That spear was made of the best wood we could get from..." Hahn muttered, before looking up and seeing Rin's face. "Wait, you're a girl?"

"I'm surprised none of you figured it out until now," Rin shot back, flipping her hood back over her head and picking her hatchet back up.

"We don't train women here," Hahn said. "Women are supposed to tend to the house and care for children, not fight on the battlefield. That's the man's job."

"Seriously?" Rin asked. "I just kicked your ass."

"Leave," Hahn said, more forceful than last time. With a sigh, Rin walked away and climbed up the steps to the hut. Sokka following close behind.

"Wait, so you're just going to leave?" Sokka asked. "Aren't you mad? He just kicked you out because you're a girl!"

"What do you suggest I do?" Rin asked. "I just beat him into the ground, and he's still not convinced. He should have been an earthbender for how stubborn he is."

"Go and try to convince them!" Sokka suggested. "Tell them that what they're doing is wrong!"

"Sokka, I don't care about whether they're wrong or right," Rin said. "For all I care, they can prevent their women from fighting all they want. What I care about is whether I'll get the training I want or not, and I just kicked their instructor's butt, so I don't think I'm going to learn much from there. You, on the other hand, probably need some training."

"Are you sure?" Sokka asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll be up at the hut," Rin said, turning around and walking up the stairs. Once she got back to the hut, she found Katara sulking in a corner. Her face showed a mixture of annoyance and frustration, with a bit of disappointment added in.

"I thought you were learning waterbending with Aang. What happened?" Rin asked.

"Master Pakku won't teach me because I'm a girl," Katara explained with a pouty look on her face. "So, why aren't you with Sokka at warrior training?"

"Same reason," Rin replied. "Though I beat the instructor in a fight and broke his weapon, so that's all good. I don't think I would learn much from them anyways."

"Easy for you to say," Katara muttered. "I traveled across the world to learn waterbending, and the person who's supposed to teach me won't because I'm a girl!"

"Have you tried training by yourself?" Rin asked. "I did that for a while before I got hired to work on a Fire Nation ship."

Katara ignored the Fire Nation ship comment, which was a surprise for Rin. "You think I haven't tried that? I tried to learn waterbending for years, but without anyone to teach me..." Katara trailed off, looking to the side. "It's hard."

"Wait, what about your family? You're a bender, but from what Sokka told me, your dad isn't, so wasn't your mom a waterbender?" Rin asked, but Katara's sullen expression told Rin that family was a sensitive topic for the girl. "Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have asked..."

"No, it's fine," Katara said, taking a deep breath. "My mom was killed during a raid. She wasn't a waterbender."

"I see," Rin muttered before an idea suddenly popped into her head. "Wait, why don't you just watch Pakku train his students?"

"What do you mean?" Katara asked.

"It's just what I said. Go over to where Pakku trains his students, watch their forms, and whatever they do," Rin explained.

"Huh, that might work. I'll go try that. Thanks for the idea," Katara said, going out the door of the hut. Suddenly, Rin was alone with nothing to do.

_Maybe I'll explore the city. I have nothing else to do, and everyone's off doing training. I might find something interesting to do, who knows._

With that, Rin exited the hut and went out to explore the city of ice.

* * *

><p><em>Well, that is pointless. Just building after building of ice. What did I expect?<em>

After wandering the city for several hours, Rin had found absolutely nothing to do. She had stopped for a quick lunch of bread and fish back at the hut, but other than that, all she had been doing for most of the day was walking. Finally, she decided to head back to the hut.

"Well that was pointless," Rin muttered, walking beside the waterways that connected the city. As she turned a corner, she noticed someone lying on the ground in front of her, soaking wet from head to toe. Upon closer investigation, she realized that it was Sokka.

"Hey," Rin said, lightly kicking Sokka in the head. "What're you doing down there?"

"Uh, nothing," Sokka replied as he got up. "Hey, guess what?"

"What?" Rin asked. "On second thought, tell me while we walk back to the hut. You need some dry clothes."

"Right," Sokka agreed as a shiver ran through his body. "Anyways, I got a date with Princess Yue tonight! I literally asked her a minute ago, and she said yes!"

"That doesn't explain why you're soaking wet," Rin pointed out.

"Well, I was kinda distracted, and I fell into the water," Sokka explained.

"Distracted by the princess?" Rin asked with a grin.

"Yeah," Sokka admitted.

"I see," Rin said. "Warrior training finished?"

"It was horrible," Sokka replied. "After you left, Hahn got angry and shouted at us for the rest of the training."

"Then I'm glad that I wasn't there," Rin said as they approached the hut. By now, Sokka was shivering and chattering his teeth. "Go in and change into some dry clothes. Don't want to be sick on your first date."

"Okay," Sokka replied, stepping into the hut and closing the door. Rin stood outside, waiting for him to come out. In the distance, she noticed Aang walking towards the hut.

"How'd waterbending go?" Rin asked.

"Master Pakku's a good teacher," Aang replied. "But he won't train Katara because of some Water Tribe custom or something."

"I heard," Rin said. "I told her to watch Pakku train you and learn from that. Did it work?"

"Master Pakku caught Katara and told her to leave," Aang said. "He said that she should go to the healing huts with the other women."

"Huh, so that didn't work..." Rin muttered. "Oh, and Sokka's inside changing out of some wet clothes. So, what are we gonna do for the rest of the day?"

"I think Katara's at the healing huts, so I guess the rest of us could just hang out until she gets back?" Aang suggested. "It's almost evening."

"I guess we could," Rin said. "I'm going to go grab some dinner from the palace."

* * *

><p>Rin walked out of the palace, carrying a bag of cooked meat in her hand. Luckily, since they were guests of the Northern Water Tribe, they were free to take food without any cost. Rin stopped by the healing huts where Aang had said Katara went. As she walked into one of the huts, she spotted Katara sitting down, watching a healing lesson with a group of much younger girls.<p>

"Katara!" Rin called, causing Katara to turn around towards her.

"What is it?" Katara asked, getting up and walking over. "I'm kind of in the middle of a lesson."

"I brought dinner," Rin said, reaching into the sack and handing Katara a few pieces of meat. "When will this be over?"

"Maybe... I'm not sure," Katara said, rubbing her chin. "Probably in an hour or two."

"Got it," Rin replied before turning and leaving the hut. As she walked along the waterways, she noticed the sun setting on the horizon, casting a warm, orange glow over the normally white ice of the city. For some reason, it felt warmer than it had been at noon. As she got back to the hut, Rin noticed Sokka preparing to leave.

"Oh, you're back?" Sokka called over to her. "Did you pick up dinner?"

"Take some and give me the bag back," Rin said, throwing the bag of meat over to Sokka, who immediately grabbed a few pieces and started stuffing his face.

"Thanfff uou," Sokka tried to say through a mouthful of food, giving the bag back. Rin simply nodded and headed inside, looking inside the bag to see what was left. Sure enough, there were a few pieces of meat at the bottom of the sack, along with half of a fish.

"Hey, you brought dinner!" Aang exclaimed. "Did you get anything vegetarian?"

"Get it yourself," Rin muttered, grabbing a piece of meat. "There's only dead animals in here."

"Rin..." Aang muttered with a look of disapproval. "Well, I guess I'll go up to the palace myself. I need to get food for Appa and Momo, anyways."

"You do that," Rin said as Aang went outside and flew off towards the palace. Rin proceeded to eat until she was full, putting a few pieces aside for if she was hungry later. Suddenly, Sokka poked his head into the hut, calling Rin's name.

"What is it?" Rin asked.

"I'm going to my date with Princess Yue now," Sokka explained. "Hold down the fort while I'm gone, 'k?"

"I guess..." Rin replied as Sokka ran off, almost giddy with anticipation. Once again, Rin had nothing to do.

* * *

><p>About an hour passed, and the evening had turned to night. Sokka, Katara, and Aang almost all arrived at the same time, with Sokka looking depressed and frustrated.<p>

"How was warrior training?" Katara asked Sokka, who kicked his bag and let out a frustrated grunt in response.

"That bad?" Aang asked.

"Kinda, but that's not it," Sokka explained, lying down on the floor and using his bag as a pillow. "It's Princess Yue. I don't get it, one minute she wants to go out with me and the next she's telling me to get lost!"

"So the date failed," Rin assumed.

"Big time," Sokka said, before turning to Katara. "So how's waterbending training?"

"Master poophead won't train Katara because she's a girl," Aang explained.

"Why don't you just teach her, Aang?" Sokka asked. "I mean, what's wrong with that?"

"Why didn't I think of that?" Katara exclaimed. "At night, you can teach me whatever moves you learned from Master Pakku. That way, I learn waterbending and you have someone to practice with! Everyone's happy!"

"I'm not happy," Sokka muttered.

"And I'm still bored," Rin added. "I have nothing to do since I'm banned from warrior training. I've been thinking about breaking into houses and stealing stuff just to have something to do."

"Sokka, you're never happy," Katara said. "And Rin, I told you when you joined the group that there would be no stealing. Come on Aang, let's go practice waterbending."

"Well, there they go," Rin muttered as Katara and Aang went out the front door. "They might take a while, so I'm gonna go to sleep."

"Agreed," Sokka said, rolling out his sleeping bag. Rin took off her boots and lied down on the fur-covered floor wrapping her cloak around herself and going to sleep

* * *

><p><em>She was drifting.<em>

_The waters of the pool were calm and peaceful as the two fish swam around each other. It was relaxing, drifting along without a care in the world. She couldn't see beyond the surface - not that she wanted to. She was content._

_Suddenly, a current started up, pulling her against her will. She tried to fight it, but it was useless. It was as if a dark maelstrom had appeared, sucking in everything near it. Everything grew darker as she succumbed to the current._

_Suddenly, the current stopped, and she blacked out._

* * *

><p>"Urgh," Rin groaned, waking up from the strange dream. It felt like last night all over again, except she wasn't sweating. She looked around and was surprised to see that Katara was already up and changing into her clothes for the day.<p>

"Well, you're up early," Rin muttered as she sat up.

"Wake up the two boys," Katara ordered. "We're heading up to the palace."

"Why?" Rin asked, grabbing her boots and strapping them on.

"Master Pakku caught Aang teaching me waterbending, and now he won't teach Aang," Katara explained. "We need to try and convince him to accept Aang back. He needs to learn waterbending."

"Huh, so I guess Sokka's suggestion didn't work out?" Rin asked. She stood up and went over to where Sokka was laying down, kicking him lightly until she heard a groan come out of his sleeping bag.

"What is it?" Sokka mumbled. "I wanna sleep."

"Hey, Sokka," Rin said, kneeling down and hitting the boy lightly over the head. "Your little idea to teach your sister waterbending got busted, and now Aang can't learn waterbending. We're going up to fix that, and you're coming."

"Really?" Sokka asked, this time a little more awake. "How'd they get caught?"

"Old men like to take walks at night," Rin replied, standing back up. "Get up, we're going soon."

"Wait, what's going on?" Aang asked, having been woken up by their talking.

"We're going up to try and get Master Pakku to teach you again," Katara explained.

"Do we have to?" Aang asked. "I could always find another teacher."

"Aang, as much as I hate to admit it, Master Pakku is the best waterbender in the North Pole, and maybe the world," Katara said. "You shouldn't have to settle for a lesser teacher just because I wanted to learn waterbending."

"If you're sure..." Aang said. Once everyone was up and ready, they exited the hut and started towards the palace.

"Hey, Rin..." Aang said as they climbed up the steps leading to the palace.

"What?" Rin asked.

"Uh, shouldn't you put your hood down?" Aang suggested. "From what the monks told me, it's disrespectful to have headwear on while you're inside, or to hide your face when you talk to someone."

"Why should I respect them?" Rin asked. "They won't train Katara just because she's a girl, and I'm not going to respect them just because they're high rank or some stuff like that."

"Uh, okay," Aang said. As they entered the palace, Rin noticed that Aang had gone to the other side of the group next to Katara and away from herself. A guard approached them and signaled for the group to stop.

"Chief Arnook and Master Pakku are expecting you," the guard told them, escorting them to a large meeting room. The two men were sitting cross-legged on a raised platform, along with Yue and a few high-rank tribesmen.

"Master Pakku told me that you would come here," Arnook said. "So, what do you want?"

"Uh, well, the thing is..." Sokka started, but Arnook cut him off.

"I have already heard about what your sister and the Avatar did last night," the chief said. "Unfortunately for you, Pakku is a man of his word. He meant every word he said."

"Look, Aang's the Avatar," Rin argued. "He's your hope of not getting overrun by the Fire Nation. If you don't train him, it'll be a giant disservice to the world."

"So, what do you want me to do?" Arnook asked. "Force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?"

"Yes... please?" Katara asked.

"I suppose he will change his mind if you swallow your pride and apologize to him," Arnook said. Katara had an angry look on her face, but she softened up after looking back at Aang.

"Fine," Katara said, turning back towards Master Pakku.

"I'm waiting, little girl," Pakku said in an almost teasing manner. Suddenly, something seemed to snap in Katara. Her fists clenched and her face filled with determination and anger.

"No!" Katara shouted as the ice around her feet began to crack. "No way am I apologizing to a sour, old man like you!"

_Crash_! Two pots on the side of the room exploded, spilling water over the floor of the room. Everyone was silent, stunned by Katara's sudden outburst.

"I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me," Katara shouted, pointing towards Pakku before heading out of the room.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that," Aang said.

"Yeah, I think she did," Sokka replied.

_Wow. I'll make sure not to piss her off if she gets better at waterbending,_ Rin mentally noted as she and the two boys caught up with Katara, who was walking down the stairs to a large courtyard outside the palace.

"Are you crazy, Katara?" Sokka asked. "You're not gonna win a fight against a master waterbender!"

"I know, and I don't care!" Katara shouted, throwing off her parka and tossing it into Sokka's arms.

"Katara, you don't have to do this for me," Aang pleaded. "I can find another teacher. I don't have to train with Pakku."

"This isn't about you! Someone needs to slap some sense into that guy," Katara shouted before turning to Rin. "And don't you try to convince me too!"

"Go ahead," Rin said. "I don't really see the point though, since the old man's just going to beat you into the ground."

"Oh, shut it," Katara growled before spotting Pakku coming down the stairs behind the group. "So, you decided to show up?"

_Why wouldn't he? There's probably no chance that he's gonna lose, R_in thought. However, the old man walked past Katara, completely ignoring her.

"Aren't you gonna fight?!" Katara asked as he walked away.

"Go back to the healing huts with the other women where you belong," Pakku replied, waving the girl off. In response, Katara drew up a tendril of ice from the ground, converting it to water and whipping Pakku on the back of his head.

"Fine, you want to learn how to fight so badly?" Pakku asked, turning around. "Study closely!"

"Get back!" Rin told Aang and Sokka, leading them a safe distance away from the fight as Pakku bent two large streams of water towards Katara. Rin turned back and saw Katara get hit by a blast of water, followed by Pakku bending a large swirling wall of water around the two combatants.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," Rin heard Pakku say from behind the wall of water. Suddenly, the water shot off straight towards Rin, who instinctively rolled out of the way. Sokka, however, wasn't so lucky. He was hit directly by the blast of water and thrown into a nearby waterway.

"I'm gonna go grab Sokka," Rin told Aang before running over to the waterway where Sokka had landed. As the boy swam to the edge of the water, Rin grabbed his hand and pulled him back onto the ice.

"Wow, those two can sure hit hard," Sokka said.

"This is the second time you've fallen into a waterway in a day. Let's not make this a daily thing," Rin replied.

"Believe me, I'm not trying to," Sokka said as they walked back over to watch the fight. Katara was standing in a pool of water, throwing razor-sharp disks of ice at Pakku, who managed to dodge or block every hit.

_Huh, Katara's a better waterbender than I assumed._ Katara bent the water around her feet and threw it at Pakku, who redirected the stream behind him and pushed it along the ground, using the ice at his feet to gather more water. As Katara tried to charge in, he threw the stream of water, washing the girl back and bringing her to her knees.

"Well, I'm impressed," Pakku commented as Katara stood up. "You are an excellent waterbender."

"But you still won't teach me, will you?" Katara asked, panting.

"No," Pakku said as Katara bent a wave of water at him in response. The old master dodged to the slide, sliding towards Katara along a slope of ice and knocking her down. Rin spotted a small, blue band fly off of Katara, identifying it as her necklace.

_Katara's looking tired... this is gonna be over soon,_ Rin assumed as Pakku bent a mass of water into the air above Katara. With a flick of his wrists, the water turned to spears of ice and crashed down all around her.

"Katara!" Aang shouted. He was about to rush over and check on the girl. However, Rin grabbed his arm and held him in place.

"She's not hurt, just trapped. Look closer before rushing in," Rin muttered to Aang. Sure enough, Katara was struggling against the icicles that held her in place, glaring at Pakku as he walked by.

"This fight is over," the old man proclaimed as he passed by.

"No, it's not!" Katara shouted. "I'm not finished yet!"

"Yes, you are," Pakku replied before he suddenly stopped, looking down towards the ground. With a shocked look on his face, he picked Katara's necklace off the ground and stared at it. "This... is my necklace."

"No, it's not. It's mine!" Katara shouted, struggling against the icicles surrounding her. "Give it back!"

"I made this sixty years ago," Pakku said in disbelief. "For the love of my life... for Kanna."

"My gran-gran was supposed to marry you?" Katara asked as the ice around her melted.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Rin asked, approaching Katara. "What happened with your grand-"

"Be quiet," Katara ordered. "I'll explain afterwards if I can, but for now, shut up."

"I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged," Pakku explained as Rin stepped back, letting the two talk. "I thought we would live a long, happy life together. I loved her..."

"But she didn't love you, didn't she?" Katara finished. "It was an arranged marriage. Gran-gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she ran away. It must have taken a lot of courage."

_Wait, so her grandmother and that old man knew each other? That's kinda lucky,_ Rin thought. Princess Yue, who had been watching the entire thing, teared up and ran off while Sokka watched longingly.

"Go get her," Aang said, prompting Sokka to chase after the white-haired princess. Meanwhile, Pakku turned around and walked up to Katara, handing her the necklace.

"I should have learned this sixty years ago," Pakku said solemnly, looking out towards the ocean. "My tribe was too strict with its customs - the opposite of what a waterbender should be. I didn't realize that, and I lost Kanna."

"Hey!" Rin shouted, walking up to the old man. "I'm not sure what's going on, but from what I've heard and seen, your customs are crap. Why did you follow them in the first place? All they've done is take away your girlfriend and stop good fighters like Katara from learning."

"Rin! What are you doing?" Katara hissed, gesturing for her to back off.

"No, your companion is right, although she may be a little blunt," Pakku said, turning to Katara. "I've made my decision. I will accept the Avatar back into my training... and you may come, too."

"Thank you, Master Pakku," Katara said, smiling. As the old man walked back to the palace, Aang walked over to the two girls.

"Thanks for getting us back into training, Katara," Aang said.

"Don't mention it," Katara replied before taking a look around. "Hey, where did Sokka go?"

"The princess ran off crying during your talk with the old man," Rin explained. "Aang told Sokka to use that as an opportunity. Also, he's in wet clothes because you blasted him with water, and now he's probably freezing."

"Well, the easiest way to get someone to like you is to comfort them while they're down," Aang said. "I don't think I'd let Sokka miss an opportunity like that. He probably has the common sense to change out of his wet clothes, anyways."

"Let's hope he does," Katara said. "We should go back now, I'm tired."

And so they walked back together, with Rin watching Katara and Aang smile all the way down.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I don't really know much about sparring. I just think of it as fighting for training.<strong>

**Thanks for reading! If you have the time, I would love it if you could leave a review telling me what you think of the chapter and/or story, as well as any concerns or criticisms you may have(my current worry is canon characters being out of character, as well as the fight scene above). Of course, you don't need to go into some detailed paragraph on why you do/don't like the story, you can just say whatever you want. If you catch any error (continuity, misinformation, typos, etc), I'd appreciate it if you could tell me. I shouldn't really have to tell you this, but if you liked the story and want to get updates on when I post, the follow/favorite buttons are there for you. The Siege of the North starts next chapter, so until then, have a nice day!**


	9. The Siege of the North

**Here's the final chapter of book one! A few things:**

**1) Thanks once again to ****DreadingTheDayWhenYou'reGone for beta reading and revising this chapter before it went out. He's been a great help, getting this story to its current state.**

**2) Thanks to those who read the story and/or reviewed. Here are my responses:**

**Guitarrawr1, thanks for following, and I'm glad you like the story.**

**Redleafs16, thanks for the feedback once again. While I planned to tone down the swearing, I don't want to use made-up swears ("spirits," for example, is a common one I've seen) since they water down the effect/severity of the cursing.**

**To the guest labeled as "Me," thanks for reviewing, though it would be nice if you got an account so I know who's reviewing or if you are reviewing repeatedly. About your actual review, Rin isn't supposed to be too likable. Remember, she's spent the majority of her remembered life alone, so she puts herself as her first priority. However, you may see a change in that attitude sooner or later.**

**This is the last chapter before we head into book two territory. Let's get started!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: The Siege of the North<strong>

Several days had passed, and Rin was bored out of her mind. Aang and Katara had waterbender training for most of the time, and Sokka had warrior training and dates with Princess Yue. Rin, meanwhile, had nothing to occupy her time. Before she met the Avatar, she spent most of her time trying to survive, wandering from place to place, looking for shelter and stealing enough to feed herself. Now, there was no reason to do that, since the tribe took care of meals and housing. There wasn't even anything notable to steal. Everything was made of ice, cloth or bone. As of now she was at the stables, checking on Appa.

_The sooner we head out and get back to the Earth Kingdom, the better,_ she thought, brushing Appa's fur.

"Hey, Rin! What are you doing here?" Rin heard Sokka ask. She turned around to see Sokka approach, Princess Yue following behind him.

"Aang wanted me to check on Appa while he was at training," Rin explained. "I'm assuming you wanna show your date what flying's like?"

"No, we're just friends," Sokka said quickly. "But yeah."

"He's all yours," Rin told him, stepping away to the side of the stables. She noticed that it was starting to snow lightly over the city, which wasn't unusual for this place and time of day.

"Appa and I go way back, don't we boy?" Sokka explained to the princess as he turned towards the bison, who gave an affectionate growl and charged the boy, pinning him to the ground and licking him. "Down boy, down! No, up!"

"Looks like you haven't been giving Appa enough attention," Yue commented, giggling as Sokka struggled to get out from underneath Appa. After a few more licks, the bison stepped back and let Sokka stand up.

"Blech, goopy bison spit!" Sokka said before turning to Yue. "So, do you want to ride on Appa with me?"

"I'll try it," the princess replied as Sokka climbed up to the saddle. "Is it scary?"

"Nah, it's awesome!" Sokka said, pulling Yue up the saddle. "Though the first time I flew on Appa back at the South Pole, it was kinda shocking for the first few seconds."

"So, how does this work?" Yue asked as Sokka grabbed onto the reins.

"You holding on tight?" Sokka asked. Yue responded with a nod. "Okay, then get ready. Yip... yip!"

As Appa and the two teenagers flew into the air, Rin could hear Yue screaming, hopefully in delight. The bison flew towards the ocean and Rin decided to follow, walking beside the waterways towards the edge of the city. In the distance, she could see gray clouds gathering in the horizon.

_That's odd, is there a storm coming?_ Rin thought, remembering back to the storm that Sokka had been caught out in when she first met the group. It seemed like so long ago that she had meet the Avatar and the two siblings from the South Pole, but it had only been a couple of months. Now, the four of them were close friends. No, not friends. Allies. _Calling someone a friend makes it harder to leave them, and I know I can't travel with these guys forever._

"Hey, what's that?" Rin heard someone say. Looking up, she saw black specks drifting from the sky, settling along the ground and darkening the waterways. She let a speck drop into her hand and took a close look at it.

_This is soot from a Fire Navy ship. I'd recognize this anywhere. But there's so much..._ Suddenly, Rin's mind went back to the temple where they had fought off an attack from the Fire Nation, and the theory she had formed and dismissed in the span of a minute. _So that's why they had so many troops up north. They were getting ready to attack the Northern Water Tribe... and now they're here._

_Bong! Bong!_

The sound of a gong rang out across the city, and everyone around Rin suddenly dropped everything and started running to the palace. Rin, presuming that the chief had formed the same assumption as she did and was calling an emergency meeting, ran along with them. She noticed Appa flying overhead, along with Sokka and Yue. After a few minutes of jogging to the palace, Rin found Sokka standing still, looking up the steps to the palace.

"Hey!" Rin shouted, grabbing the boy's attention. "You standing around all day, or are we heading up?"

"Uh... okay," Sokka replied, not looking over towards Rin as she ran past. Something seemed off about him, as if he was shocked about something. Rin assumed that it was the news of the impending attack. As the two went inside, they found Katara and Aang sitting by a pillar and sat next to them. Almost the entire tribe had gathered to hear what Chief Arnook would say.

"The day we have feared for so long has arrived," the chief started solemnly as the room quieted. "The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness that I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces may vanish from our tribe. However, they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!"

_Normally I don't believe in the spirits,_ Rin thought. _But we'll need all the help we can get. The Fire Nation definitely has the upper hand in this battle._

"I'm going to need some volunteers for a dangerous mission," Arnook said. "Be warned, many of you will not return."

"Count me in," Sokka said, a look of determination on his face. He stood up with the other volunteers. Rin noticed Princess Yue gasp, looking worried at Sokka's offer.

"Come forward and receive my mark if you accept the task," Arnook said. The volunteers lined up, one by one receiving a red mark drawn on their forehead by the chief. As the line grew shorter, Rin silently stood up and started to walk to the back of the line.

"Rin," Aang whispered, stopping the cloaked girl for a moment. "What are you doing?"

"It's a dangerous mission," Katara added. "Remember, Arnook said that you might not come back."

"I know what I'm doing," Rin replied. "Trust me, I'm planning on coming back alive. Besides, you trusted Sokka to the mission."

"If you're sure..." Aang said as Rin turned around, walking to the back of the line. As she made her way to the front, Arnook dipped his fingers into a dish of red paint and held them out to her.

"Take off your hood and receive my mark," Arnook ordered.

"No mark," Rin replied, making sure her hood was fully over her head. "Just tell me where to go."

"The mark symbolizes your bravery and selflessness for this mission," Arnook explained. "It is an ancient tradition for warriors about to head into battle."

"I don't care about any of that," Rin argued. "Am I on the mission or not?"

"Hm... I suppose if you are willing to volunteer, the refusal of this mark shouldn't be the thing to stop you. We will have a briefing with the other volunteers after this meeting. For now, go to those who have received the mark," Arnook said, pointing to the side where Sokka and about ten other men were sitting. Rin took a seat next to Sokka.

"Why did you volunteer?" Sokka asked, face skewed in puzzlement. "And why didn't you accept the mark?"

"I'm not sure if he would have accepted me if I lifted my hood and showed him my face," Rin explained, looking over the volunteers around her. "Also, I've gotten paint on my face once already with your friend from the south, and it didn't really feel too good."

"That doesn't explain why you came up and volunteered in the first place," Sokka pointed out.

"We're allies," Rin said, making eye contact with Sokka. "Allies help each other out. You're more likely to survive if we work together on this mission."

"Wow," Sokka muttered. "It seems like yesterday when you stole from Katara and got blasted off a cliff by Aang for attacking her. Now... we're friends, risking ourselves for the sake of the Northern Water tribe."

"Don't get me wrong," Rin said. "I'm not gonna risk my life over a mission. If things get too dangerous, I'm going to bail. So, why'd you volunteer?"

"I want to protect Princess Yue," Sokka explained. "As well as the tribe she values so much."

"Seems like you two are more than friends," Rin teased.

"You said yourself that allies help each other out," Sokka replied, a blush evident on his face. "And I'm pretty sure that a friend counts as an ally, doesn't it? It's not like we're dating or anything."

"Sokka, you're taking her on walks under the moonlight," Rin pointed out. "You have lunch together. You took her on a flight with Appa today. I'm pretty sure at least one of your 'friendly meetings' is a date."

"I admit, I'm a bit... happy to be with her. And I guess she's pretty. Fine, I like her," Sokka admitted. Rin smirked, then noticed that the crowd was leaving the room and Arnook was walking over to the volunteers.

"I thank you all for volunteering for this mission," the chief said, scanning over the group. "Meet me at the armory in one hour. Until then, you will join the other warriors at the outer wall."

"This is it," Rin muttered as they headed out of the palace.

"When I joined Aang, I never expected to be fighting in a giant battle on the other side of the world," Sokka said. "It seems kind of..."

"Surreal?" Rin suggested as they climbed down the steps outside the palace.

"Yeah, kinda like that," Sokka replied.

"Trust me, I know how it feels," Rin muttered. "A few months back, I'd never think that I would be fighting for some tribe at the North Pole, let alone with the Avatar. Things change."

"That they do," Sokka commented. After several minutes of walking, they reached the wall where Aang and Katara were waiting.

"Are they here yet?" Rin asked as she climbed the stairs up to the top of the wall.

"There's a ship just on the horizon, but it stopped moving," Katara replied, looking out over the ocean. Rin barely made out a small speck of gray sitting out on the ocean, with no other ships in sight. Suddenly, an orange flare launched out of the ship and started barreling towards the city, growing into a massive fireball.

_Crash!_

The fireball exploded against the wall, taking out a massive chunk of ice and scattering the defenses of the tribe. The ice crumbled under Rin's feet and dragged her down into the debris of the explosion along with Katara and Sokka. A moment later, she found herself buried up to her neck in ice and snow with the two siblings nowhere to be found.

_Get out first, search later._ Rin stuck her arm out of the debris and, with a grunt, pushed herself out and onto the ground. As she lay there regaining her breath, Sokka and Katara walked out from the other side of a large pile of debris.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked. "We thought you might have been buried somewhere."

"I kinda was," Rin replied, getting up. "Where's Aang?"

"He flew off in the direction of the attack," Katara explained. Rin climbed back up to the top of the wall, seeing the bison fly towards the ship in the distance. Water Tribe boats were sent out to intercept the ship, but Rin paid no attention to them. Instead, she was squinting at the dozens of gray specks appearing over the horizon, each launching giant fireballs of their own.

"Get back!" Rin shouted, grabbing the two siblings and dragging them down behind the wall as the barrage of fireballs hit the city. Most of them exploded against the wall, but many had gotten over and crashed into the buildings and waterways. There were a few attempts at stopping the fireballs by groups of waterbenders, but most of them went unobstructed.

"Katara, stay here and help the other waterbenders," Sokka ordered. "Rin and I are going to the armory for the mission."

"Okay," Katara replied. "Be careful on the mission, Sokka. I don't want to lose another member of our family..."

"You won't have to," Sokka assured before the two siblings embraced each other. "We'll come back, I promise."

_This brings back memories... it's just like my last night on the ship,_ Rin thought. After letting them hold each other for a few seconds, Rin grabbed Sokka by the shoulder and pulled him away. "Come on, we need to go."

* * *

><p>"You will be infiltrating the Fire Nation Navy and taking out their commanding officer," Chief Arnook explained. After arriving at the armory with the other volunteers, Rin and Sokka were listening to the chief give a description of their mission. "At the stroke of midnight, we will launch from the city in four separate canoes. The first step of the mission is to evade the eyes of the Fire Navy and board the flagship of the fleet."<p>

"How do we know which one's the flagship?" Rin asked.

"According to reports from our scouts, it is a larger, more decorated ship heading the fleet. Once you get into the ship, you will all need one of these," Arnook answered, pointing to a side room where Hahn had just walked out from. He was dressed in what looked like an altered, dusty Fire Navy uniform, holding a helmet to his side.

_That... isn't the uniform. We're gonna die if we get spotted,_ Rin thought as Sokka burst out laughing, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.

"What's your problem?" Hahn asked.

"Fire Navy uniforms don't look like that," Sokka said.

"Of course they do," Hahn argued. "These are real uniforms taken from actual Fire Navy soldiers!"

"When, like a hundred years ago?" Sokka asked.

"Eighty-five," Arnook clarified.

"First off, you have no face mask," Rin pointed out. "Fire Navy soldiers wear face masks that kinda look like skulls. Also, the current helmet has horns; yours doesn't."

"The Fire Nation doesn't wear shoulder spikes anymore," Sokka continued, walking up to Hahn and twanging at the black shoulder spikes. "The new uniform is much more streamlined."

"How do we know we can trust these two?" Hahn asked, confronting Sokka. "Such bold talk for a new recruit and a girl who shouldn't even be here."

"It's not bold talk, it's facts," Rin argued, walking up next to Sokka and staring Hahn straight in the eye.

"Sokka is from our sister tribe, Hahn," Arnook interrupted. "He is a capable warrior and I value his input. I do not know much about his companion, but I have heard that she bested you in a fight a day after she arrived to this tribe. Now, our first objective is to determine the identity of their commanding officer."

"His name is Zhao," Sokka explained. "Middle aged, big sideburns, bigger temper, smaller ponytail."

"Sokka, everyone in the Fire Nation has ponytails," Rin pointed out. "But yeah, that's basically him."

"Wait, how do you know?" Sokka whispered into Rin's ear. "We never encountered the guy while you were with us."

"It was before I met you guys," Rin replied. "Actually, probably even before you met Zhao. It's not like I could forget him."

"Sokka, I want you to tell everything you know to Hahn. He's leading this mission," Arnook explained. "Hahn, show Sokka your respect. I expect nothing less from my future son-in-law."

"Wait, you're marrying Princess Yue?" Sokka exclaimed.

"What of it?" Hahn asked back rather aggressively.

"Nothing," Sokka muttered, turning away. "Congratulations."

"Sokka, if you think about it, it's not too surprising," Rin said, pulling Sokka to the side. "The guy is pretty high up within the tribe, from what I've heard. It's natural for a marriage to be arranged between the higher-ups."

"Yeah, but he's literally the worst person for Yue to marry," Sokka huffed.

"That I agree with," Rin admitted. "But unless you want to be like your sister and fight Hahn to prevent him from marrying the princess, there's nothing you can do about it. Who knows, maybe he'll die during the mission."

"I'm not that cruel; it's not like I want him to die," Sokka said.

"You might not be cruel, but the world is," Rin reminded him. "Remember, the chief said that it was a dangerous mission."

"Alright, men!" Hahn shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. "Prepare what you need for the mission here, and I'll brief you once midnight closes in. We'll take down this Admiral Zho with ease!"

"It's Zhao," both Sokka and Rin muttered.

* * *

><p><em>Huh, a sharpening wheel. This'll be useful. I haven't sharpened my hatchet in... never, actually.<em>

An hour passed and all of the volunteers were still in the armory, gearing up and grabbing weapons. Sokka, Rin, and Hahn were sharpening their weapons on foot-operated sharpening wheels.

"Let me tell ya, Sokka," Hahn started with a smug grin on his face. "I've courted a lot of girls, but Yue's the finest. And she comes with the most perks, too."

"Perks?!" Sokka exclaimed, looking over at the older boy. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, Yue's fine and all, but the points I'll gain with the chief aren't bad either," Hahn explained.

"Yue is wasted on a self-absorbed weasel like you!" Sokka ranted, looking back down at the sharpening wheel with an annoyed look on his face.

"Whoa, hang on," Hahn said, looking over. "Why do you care? You're just a simple southern peasant. What would you know about the political complexities of our life? No offense."

"Aargh!" Sokka shouted, jumping over and tackling Hahn to the ground. The two rolled over each other, trading blows and insults. "You're just a jerk without a soul; no offense!"

"That's enough!" Arnook declared, grabbing the two boys and holding them apart. "Sokka, you're off the mission!"

_Well crap, there goes my reason for going on this mission_, Rin thought. _But I guess I can't back out now._

"All right, men, fall in!" Hahn ordered. "Follow me and we'll defeat this Admiral Cho in no time!"

"It's Admiral Zhao!" Sokka shouted before leaving the armory. As Sokka left, Hahn got all the volunteers in a huddle.

"Okay, so here's the plan," Hahn started. "At midnight, we will go and board the enemy flagship. I, wearing the Fire Nation armor, will find the admiral and defeat him! Any questions?"

_I can see so many things wrong with this plan,_ Rin thought, raising her hand to point out the many obvious errors, such as the one she and Sokka pointed out with the uniform and the fact that they had no idea where Zhao would be.

"No questions? Okay then, we're heading for the docks!" Hahn ordered, seemingly ignoring Rin's hand on purpose. With a sigh, Rin followed the rest of the group to the docks.

* * *

><p>"It looks like the ships have stopped for the night," Rin observed, looking out towards the fleet. Every ship had dropped its anchor and stopped launching fireballs.<p>

"Ha, the cowards!" Hahn gloated, standing up in the middle of the canoe. The volunteers, separated into three different canoes, had launched from the port and were approaching the Fire Navy fleet, using the darkness of the night as cover. At the bottom of each canoe were the old Fire Navy uniforms. Hahn was already wearing his. "They're too afraid to fight the might of the Water Tribe!"

"They're not cowards, they're waiting for... oh, nevermind," Rin muttered as Hahn once again ignored Rin's explanation. _Firebenders get their power from the sun, and I'm pretty sure that waterbenders get it from the moon. They just need to wait until dawn to strike._

"Okay, let's go over the plan one more time," Hahn said to Rin and the two men, one a warrior and another a waterbender who was silently propelling the canoe. "We sneak aboard the ship with these Fire Nation uniforms, find this Admiral Choi, and I'll take him out!"

"We're about four hundred meters from the flagship," the waterbender warned Hahn. Suddenly, a large blast of fire shot downwards from the deck of the ship without warning, incinerating a canoe less than a hundred meters away. At the same time, another fireball made contact with the second canoe, exploding it into flames.

"We've been spotted," Rin said, preparing to jump away from an oncoming fireball and swim back to shore. However, the fireball never came.

"Wait, why aren't we being attacked?" Hahn asked as their canoe continued forward. Rin looked back at the burning wreckage and saw the reflection of the full moon behind her, a glowing white orb in the black ocean.

"It's the moon," Rin explained. "They drifted over the reflection of the moon and got spotted by someone."

"These are troubled times, even the moon is against us..." the warrior behind Rin muttered. He was a large, bulky man, but his voice was soft and strangely comforting.

"Be quiet, Kontak," Hahn ordered as the canoe skimmed alongside the ship. "Now, we just need to find a way to get into the ship..."

_Are you serious? You didn't plan a way to actually get into the ship? I really shouldn't have gone on this mission,_ Rin thought before an idea popped into her head. "Take us to the starboard hull of the ship. If I'm right, there should be an anchor dropped down there."

"To the other side," Hahn commanded the waterbender. As they made their way around the ship, a large metal chain extending from the surface of the water to the deck came into view.

"I will wait for you here to bring you back, in case you make it out alive," the waterbender said as Rin and the other warrior, Kontak, reached down to grab their armor, while Hahn grabbed onto the anchor chain and started climbing. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Rin noticed a bright flare from the deck of the ship.

"Who's there?" someone called from the deck of the ship. As Rin looked up, she saw a stream of fire descending from the ship and instinctively jumped out of the canoe and into the water, while Kontak jumped onto the anchor chain behind Hahn. The waterbender, however, wasn't so lucky, burning alive in the fiery wreckage of the canoe. In a few moments, the waterbender's scorched corpse and the remains of the canoe, along with the armor, sank into the frigid waters.

_Crap, one down. This isn't going well, but without that canoe, I guess I don't have a choice of leaving,_ Rin thought, swimming to the chain. The water was cold, freezing, but for some reason, she was fine. It wasn't that she didn't feel the cold; she did, but her body was warm regardless as if her insides were still in the Earth Kingdom in the middle of the day. She grabbed onto the chain and started climbing behind the two men. As they got closer to the top, she heard the same voice that had destroyed the canoe. Hahn had stopped climbing, waiting for the deck to clear out before they reached the top.

"Water Tribe scum," the voice muttered as another pair of footsteps approached.

"What is it, Admiral Zhao?" a second, older voice asked, and Rin almost gasped. Her hands clenched the chains tighter as the two continued talking.

_Iroh? What is he doing here? Last time I saw him, he and Zuko were against Zhao... what happened to Zuko?_ She stopped herself from thinking about the two firebenders, trying to ignore the questions flaring up. _Stop thinking about before. Focus on the mission._

"Just a fragile canoe. Probably just a scout," Zhao said. "Come with me to the top deck. The sun is almost up, and I wish to see the dawn of the day when the Northern Water Tribe falls."

"It would be an honor," Iroh replied as they walked away, shoes clinking upon the metal deck of the ship. Hahn poked his head above the deck and scanned around, signalling the two others to come on up.

"Now, we just need to find where this Admiral Choi is," Hahn whispered as they hid in a dark corner.

"It's Admiral Zhao, and he was the guy we were just listening to," Rin said. "He should be up on the top deck."

"We should follow him up and corner him there," Kontak suggested.

"Obviously," Hahn said, scoffing. "So, where are we going?."

"There," Rin suggested, pointing to the door where she presumed Zhao and Iroh had gone. They quietly opened the door and snuck through, ending up in a large hallway.

"Top deck, so we need to find a staircase," Hahn muttered. They went through the hallways. Hahn scouted forward due to he being the only one with a Fire Nation uniform, albeit an old one.

_This ship is a lot bigger than Zuko's. I guess the Fire Nation really went all-out on their navy, _Rin noted. Eventually, they found a door leading to a stairwell.

"I will go first. You two follow along," Hahn ordered. As they went up the stairwell, Rin heard footsteps coming down towards them.

"Thank god they're sending people up," a Fire Navy soldier said to Hahn as Rin and Kontak watched from a safe distance. "I'm dead tired. I've been on this shift for hours. Mind moving out of the way so I can go down?"

"Uh..." Hahn muttered, looking around. There was a door on the side of the stairwell, leading to another set of hallways. Hahn pointed over to the side, towards the door. "You're needed in there. Something about an emergency. Somebody got really hurt, and they need someone to help to carry the stretcher."

"Oh, really? I guess my break can wait," the soldier said, exiting the stairwell. Rin and the two warriors breathed a sigh of relief.

"Was that smooth or what?" Hahn asked, chuckling to himself. "I am the best."

"I'm surprised the armor actually worked," Rin muttered as they resumed climbing the stairwell. Eventually, they reached the top, which consisted of a short hall and a doorway.

"This is probably the top deck," Rin said. "The admiral should be up here, but there will be guards. We need to make a plan to get close to him."

"He's right there! Watch, this is my moment," Hahn replied, opening the door and stepping out onto the deck. The sun had just started to rise, shining into the hallway where Rin and Kontak were hiding.

_What the hell is he doing?_ Rin thought as Hahn ran out and pulled off his helmet, snatching a spear from one of the guards.

"Admiral Choi! Prepare to meet your fate!" Hahn shouted, charging Zhao with his spear. In one smooth motion, the admiral grabbed the spear and Hahn's arm, flipping him over the railing and into the freezing ocean below. An audible splash came up from below.

"What a humiliating death," Kontak muttered. "He did not even land a single blow."

"There's more!" a soldier shouted, pointing towards the two in the hallway. Rin realized that they had not closed the door and were now fully exposed to the Fire Navy. The two ran down the stairwell as fast as they could, going through the first door they found and slamming the door behind them. As they ran down the hallway, the troops following them burst through the door, sending blasts of fire in their direction.

"We can't run forever," Rin said as they sprinted through the halls. "They know the ship better than us."

"This way," Kontak ordered, pointing to another stairwell at the end of the hall. The two ran through the door to the stairwell, slamming it behind them before running downwards, the troops on their heels. They exited to another floor, closing the door once again. However, Kontak stopped in place, leaning against the door.

"Come on? What the heck are you doing?" Rin asked as the Fire Navy troops got to the door, trying to open it. However, Kontak was holding the door closed.

"Go in there," Kontak ordered, pointing to a small supply closet off to the side. "I will hold them off until you have a safe hiding spot."

"What? What are you saying?" Rin shouted.

"You said yourself that we cannot run forever," Kontak said. "You must hide, or else we will both die. Now hide!"

"... thanks," Rin muttered, ducking into the supply closet and closing the door. She found an empty supply locker and hid inside.

"I will not die running from the Fire Nation," Rin heard Kontak shout against the sound of troops beating the door down, "when I can give my life to save an ally! Tell the tribe of what I have done!"

_Bang!_

_Bang!_

_CRASH!_

_Fwoosh!_

"He's down and out. Send someone to pick up the corpse later. The last one should be further down the hallway," Rin heard a Fire Nation soldier say. The clanking of boots went past the door of the supply closet, noisily making their way past her and down the hall. As the soldiers passed, Rin realized that the last person on the mission besides her, that warrior, had just sacrificed himself to save her. Until she got into the canoe, she didn't even know who the man was.

_... thank you. Find peace in the Spirit World._

* * *

><p>Rin sat in the supply locker, waiting nervously until she was sure that everything was safe. Slowly, being careful not to make noise, she opened the locker and stepped out, looking around the supply closet. She noticed something large and red sitting in the corner and went to take a look.<p>

_This is... a Fire Navy uniform! And a modern one! What's it doing here?_ As Rin moved to grab the uniform, she heard the door of the supply closet click.

Shit. Rin quickly dashed over to the door as it opened, grabbing the person on the other side and pulling them into the closet while simultaneously slamming the door shut with a kick. She grabbed the person by the head and was about to slam him head-first into the metal wall when she noticed the person's face. They both paused.

"Iroh?" Rin gasped in surprise.

"Rin?" Iroh replied, equally shocked. "Oh, I haven't seen you in ages! You sure know how to take an old man by surprise."

"What are you doing here?" Rin asked, releasing the former general as she spoke. "I thought you were traveling with Zuko on his ship. How is he?"

"There have been complications with the ship, but Zuko is fine," Iroh explained. "It's so good to see you again... but I thought you left when we were in the Earth Kingdom. Why are you at the North Pole, on Zhao's flagship?"

"Stuff happened, I met the Avatar, and we came up here," Rin explained.

"Ah, so you were that cloaked figure back at the abbey!" Iroh said with a chuckle. "I knew that you seemed familiar, but I couldn't place your identity. However, that does not explain why you are in here."

"I... well, a group of warriors, including me, were supposed to board this ship and stop Zhao," Rin explained. "I think you saw what happened to one of them. Unfortunately, I'm the only one left in the mission."

"Hm..." Iroh muttered, rubbing his chin. "While Zhao is part of the Fire Nation, he is about to do something that will harm the entire world. I agree, he must be stopped."

"Wait, what's going on?" Rin asked.

"Zhao plans on killing the moon spirit," Iroh said. "Thus destroying the moon and depriving waterbenders of their bending."

"The moon spirit?" Rin asked. "But... shouldn't the spirits be in the Spirit World?"

"They should be. But according to Zhao, the ocean and moon spirits took a mortal form in this world. He plans on taking advantage of that," Iroh explained. "He is about to head out to find the moon spirit, and as his general, I will follow him. However, I will not let him harm the spirits."

"I'll come with you," Rin said. "You said that the admiral needs to be stopped, and that's what I'm supposed to be doing right now."

"Are you sure?" Iroh asked as Rin responded with a nod. "Disguise yourself with the armor back there. I originally came in to bring it back to the armory after my nephew was done with it, but I'm sure you can make use of it."

"Wait, this was Zuko's?" Rin asked, grabbing the armor. Her cloak didn't fit inside, so she took it off and stuffed it into her bag. The uniform itself was slightly bigger than what was comfortable, but it fit her, and that's what mattered. "What happened to him? Where is he?"

"Zhao tried to have him killed," Iroh explained as Rin put on her helmet and face mask. "Zuko survived the assassination attempt, and I helped him sneak aboard the ship as a soldier. He should be on his way to capture the Avatar right now."

"Again?" Rin asked, strapping her bag onto the back of the uniform. "He doesn't quit, does he?"

"Indeed. Now hurry, we must leave," Iroh commanded. The two exited the supply closet. Rin followed Iroh to the stairwell, trying to keep her steps measured so she didn't outpace him. She noticed that Kontak's body was gone, likely carried out and thrown into the ocean by Fire Navy soldiers. As they descended down the stairwell, the ship suddenly lurched, almost throwing Rin off balance.

"What was that? Did we land?" Rin asked.

"I assume so," Iroh replied as they exited out onto the deck. The sun had already started to set. Dozens upon dozens of troops, tanks, and war rhinos were exiting the warships and forcing their way into the city, driving the Water Tribe back.

_I must have been in there for longer than I thought._ As Rin watched the Fire Nation advance up the battlefield, she noticed Zhao approach them on a war rhino.

"I'm glad you could make it," Zhao told Iroh. "Take over command of the battlefield. I will be making history as the Man Who Darkened the Moon!"

"As you wish," the general replied. As the admiral rode off, Rin tapped Iroh on the shoulder.

"We need to follow him," Rin said.

"You go, I will be close behind. Remember, I am supposed to be commanding the troops," Iroh reminded Rin. With a nod, she started trailing behind the admiral and his team of soldiers and rhinos. Although they had mounts, Rin could still keep up, though she had to be careful to not run directly towards Zhao in case he looked back. She followed them through the city, trying to avoid fights between the two nations.

"Yah!" Rin heard someone shout. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a spear-bearing teenager rushing towards her. She dodged to the side, catching a glimpse of her opponent's face.

_Wait... it's that Tano guy from training! He must have attacked me because of my uniform,_ Rin realized. She grabbed the boy's spear as it stabbed past her, wrenching it from his grasp and pulling him off balance. As Tano stumbled forward, Rin grabbed the back of his neck and, with a grunt, smashed his face into the icy ground. There was an audible crack as his skull impacted the ice.

_Sorry about that... I hope he isn't dead. I need to be more careful._ After gazing at the unconscious boy for a moment, she turned to look for the admiral. She saw his group of rhinos off in the distance, turning a corner and going up towards the other end of the city. _T__hey're heading to the palace... but why?_

"Hey, you!" someone shouted. Rin turned around, seeing a soldier headed her direction.

"What is it?" Rin asked, keeping her cool.

"We need your help. There's a bunch of warriors holed up in that building over there," the soldier explained, pointing to a large ice building off to the side.

"I'm not a firebender, and I don't think I can fight a warrior," Rin told the soldier, trying to make excuses to ditch the soldier and follow Zhao. However, the soldier grabbed her, bringing her to a squad of other soldiers waiting by the door of the building.

"Ready?" one of the soldiers asked the squad. They all nodded, and the soldier kicked down the door of the building. The squad of soldiers quickly entered, blasting the inside of the building with fire. Rin felt the heat from outside the door and saw flames spurt out of the windows, searing the air around the building. After a few seconds, it was over, and the squad exited the building.

"I guess we didn't need an extra soldier. You newbies are usually scared, anyways," the soldier that grabbed Rin commented as they ran past her, making their way back to the battlefield. "I guess you can clean up the survivors. Give them an honorable death and whatnot."

"Survivors?" Rin muttered. As she entered the building, she could see what had happened to the large room inside. About a dozen burnt corpses, each holding a weapon, lay on the floor of the room. Faint traces of embers still glowed in the bodies and the remains of what had been inside the room. The walls and ceiling had started melting from the heat, forming a meter-wide puddle in the middle of the floor.

"Help..." Rin heard someone rasp from the corner of the room. She ran over, seeing the body of a warrior slumped against the wall, holding a war club. However, he was in no condition to use it; his body was covered in severe burns from head to toe, with the majority of his flesh charred and black. His parka had melted and fused to his skin from the heat. It was a wonder that Rin had even heard the warrior in his condition.

"It's time for you to enter the Spirit World. Pray to whatever spirit you pray to, 'cause I'm not doing it for you," Rin muttered, positioning her hatchet against the man's neck. In one smooth motion she slit the man's throat, causing him to go limp and blood to spill out. She got up and looked around, but there was nobody else alive in the building.

_Nobody else... I need to catch up to the admiral,_ Rin thought, running out of the building. The rhinos were no longer in sight, but she could see their large, three-clawed footprints in the thin layer of snow. She followed the tracks, making her way up to the palace stairs. _They're going in the palace..._

"Rin, there is no time to lose!" Iroh shouted from behind, catching up to the girl. "We must find Zhao before it is too late!"

"He's gone this way," Rin said, leading Iroh along the path of rhino prints. Suddenly, the moon turned red, casting a crimson glow over the entire city. Rin's heart skipped a beat, and she gasped.

"A red moon... the spirits are in trouble," Iroh muttered before turning to Rin. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Rin replied. She felt slightly tired, but nothing too bad.

"Then we must continue," Iroh said as they continued along the rhino tracks. They eventually led to a small wooden door, deep behind the palace.

"He must be in here," Iroh whispered. "Ready?"

"Ready," Rin replied. Even though she wasn't moving, she was growing more exhausted by the second, and her breath was shortening. Iroh opened the door and went through, with Rin following close behind. On the other side of the door was a large, clear oasis with an island at the other end. A waterfall came down from the glacier behind the island, supplying the oasis with water. The entire place was much warmer than outside, almost as warm as the Earth Kingdom during spring. Rin could see Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Yue confronting Admiral Zhao and his soldiers. Zhao seemed to be holding a small, burlap bag in his hand.

"Destroying the moon won't hurt just the Water Tribe," Aang said as Rin and Iroh moved closer. Rin's limbs were starting to grow sore and unresponsive, but she pressed on behind Iroh. "It will hurt everyone, including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash upon the world."

"He is right, Zhao," Iroh said, revealing himself to the two groups. Rin had to lean against the ice wall of the oasis, as her limbs were growing weak and feeble. She started panting, feeling as though she couldn't get enough oxygen into her system.

"General Iroh. Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery," Zhao asked.

"I'm no traitor," Iroh replied. "The Fire Nation needs the moon as much as anyone else. We all depend on the balance. Whatever you do to that spirit, I will unleash upon you ten-fold! Let it go, now!"

_So the spirit's in that bag?_ Rin wondered as Zhao sighed, kneeling down and putting the bag to the pond in the middle of the island. A white koi fish swam out of the bag, and the moon turned back to it's natural, pale-white color. The fish looked familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen it before.

As soon as the fish entered the water again, Rin's strength returned to her, and she used the opportunity to rush the admiral. However, as she stepped onto the grassy island where both the admiral and the Avatar were standing, Zhao sliced down at the water with a blade of fire, consuming the pond with flames. The moon above them faded into darkness, and everything became gray and lifeless. Rin fell to the ground, the feeling of weakness and breathlessness suddenly stronger than ever. She couldn't move, and she could barely breathe. _Wait... that fish... this place... this is the dream I had..._

"Hah!" Iroh shouted, launching a series of fireballs at Zhao. Rin watched from the ground as Fire Nation soldiers moved to intercept the old man; the admiral ran off past the island and out of her sight.

_Help_, Rin mentally cried out, struggling to breath. However, Aang and the others, including Iroh, walked past her motionless body and gathered around the dead moon spirit. Rin realized in horror that she was dressed in Fire Nation armor, the exact armor that the soldiers scattered around Iroh were wearing. Without being able to talk or move, she had no way of signalling her presence to them. She had never felt so helpless, so weak, in her life.

"There's no hope now, it's over," Yue sobbed as Rin's vision started to fade from oxygen deprivation. She struggled to take a breath, but her body failed to obey her. Suddenly, Aang's eyes and tattoos lit up.

"It's not over," Aang said as Rin blacked out.

* * *

><p>"... she's breathing again!"<p>

Rin woke up to Iroh and Katara kneeling over her. Her armor was off, thrown to the side, and Katara had her healing water over her chest. The moon was back in the sky, once again casting its white glow over the city.

"Where did Zhao go?" Rin suddenly asked, sitting up.

"He went out of the oasis, but I don't think you should go after him after what just happened to you," Katara suggested. "We thought-"

"Be quiet, I'm fine, explain everything later," Rin said hurriedly, getting up and running over to the exit. She felt full of energy, an odd contrast from what happened earlier. However, there was no time to contemplate on what had happened. She had a fleeing admiral to kill.

_Where's the quickest way to the ocean..._ Rin wondered, running down the palace steps. Strangely, the fighting seemed to have stopped except for on a bridge in the distance, where she could see the bright glows of firebending.

"There you are," Rin muttered, running over to the source of the fire. As she neared the bridge, she saw two figures, one of them Zhao, trading blasts of fire. Rin climbed up the stairs to the bridge, grabbing her hatchet out of her bag. She exited the stairs, stepped onto the bridge, and saw Zhao lying on the ground, his opponent standing over him.

"No, it can't be..." Zhao gasped, looking at the moon in shock.

"Captain?" Rin asked, bringing up an old habit from when she was working on the prince's ship. She was surprised to have found two former allies in the same day.

"Rin? Why are you..." Zuko replied, his eyes widening as he turned to look at her. Suddenly, glowing tendrils of water rose high up from the waterway below the bridge, reaching down towards the prince and the admiral.

"Get away!" Rin shouted, sprinting towards Zuko. She leapt over the downed admiral and pushed Zuko back, sending him to the other end of the bridge. The tendrils of water closed around her and the admiral, pinning them back-to-back before descending down towards the waterway.

"Grab my hand!" Zuko shouted, running up onto the railing of the bridge and extending his arm. While Zhao made no attempt to rescue himself, Rin tried to reach out to the prince, only to come a few inches short. She tried to free herself from the glowing tendrils, but they seemed to be as hard as rock, refusing to release their grip on the girl and the admiral.

_What a horrible way to die,_ Rin thought as she was pulled into the waterway, blacking out instantly.

* * *

><p>Rin woke up with a start, and the first thing she realized was that she couldn't see anything. Everything was black. She couldn't move, or even feel her body. She tried to look down... but what was down when you didn't even have your body as a frame of reference?<p>

_Am I... dead?_ Rin wondered, for she couldn't even feel her mouth to speak. It was as if someone removed her mind from her body and threw it into an endless limbo. _Is this the Spirit World?_

"No, and yes."

Rin was startled by the sudden voice, spoken as if it was coming from inside of her mind. The voice was that of a young girl, younger than Rin was. _Who are you?_ Rin asked in her mind. _What do you mean?_

"This is the Spirit World," the voice explained. "The home of the spirits, as well as the final destination of the spirits from your world, once life runs its course."

_So you're a spirit?_ Rin asked, puzzled by her current situation. _If I'm here, in the Spirit World, shouldn't I be dead?_

"No, Rin, you are not dead," the voice reassured. "Though many of the spirits would wish that you would be."

_What do you mean?_ Rin asked, more confused than before. _Why would they wish that? How do you know my name? Who are you?_

"I cannot explain everything now," the voice told Rin. "But you will learn, in time. I must return now before they realize that I am attending to you."

_Wait, what?!_ Rin cried out in her mind._ What do you mean, "they?" What's going on? I don't understand!_

"You must continue with your journey to the future... but remember your past," the voice said as it started to fade away. Rin felt as if she was being pushed back, back out of the void. "And remember, I am more than just a spirit. I am part of you."

* * *

><p>"Wake up! Come on, wake up!"<p>

Rin awoke to Zuko kneeling down beside her, hand placed over her chest and about to press down. She quickly sat up, brushing Zuko's arms out of the way.

"Oh thank the spirits, you're alive," Zuko said, breathing a sigh of relief.

_That might be more true than he realizes,_ Rin thought, looking around. They were sitting by the waterway, no other soul in sight besides the two of them. "Thanks, Captain."

"I told you, it's Prince Zuko, not Captain," Zuko muttered with a tick of annoyance in his voice. "The least you could do after I dragged your body out of the freezing water to save you is to refer to me properly."

"Not a chance, Captain," Rin replied, chuckling. "I did it for half a year, and I'm not gonna stop anytime soon. What happened to Zhao?"

"He was gone. Completely disappeared. The only person in the water was you," Zuko explained. He didn't dwell long on Zhao's death, but asked, "You deserted the crew back at the southern tip of the Earth Kingdom. How did you get up here, at the North Pole?"

"I joined the Avatar and his little group," Rin explained. Iroh already knew, so there was no point in hiding it from the prince.

"Traitor," Zuko growled, standing up. "I would fight you here and now for your betrayal... but I'm tired. You got off easy."

"I could beat you, Captain!" Rin shouted to Zuko's back as he walked away. It was true... if Zuko were a non-bender. Before Rin left, she and Zuko had gotten along almost well. However, being a wanted criminal by both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom put her in a negative spotlight, as well as deserting the crew. Joining the Avatar was the final nail in the coffin, making the prince treat her like he would treat the Avatar and the two Water Tribe siblings: as enemies. She had completely reset her relationship with Zuko, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. As Zuko walked out of sight, Rin got up and started towards the palace. She needed to group up with the others.

"There she is!" Katara shouted as Rin climbed up the steps to the palace. Aang, Sokka, and Katara ran down to greet her, the last one of the group to arrive at the palace. "Are you okay? What happened to Zhao?"

"I'm fine," Rin answered. "You won't need to worry about Zhao anymore."

"Is he...?" Aang asked.

"Yes," Rin replied, knowing what Aang was implying. "Trust me, it probably was a less painful death than he deserved. Sokka, why do you look so... gloomy?"

"Yue is dead," Sokka explained morbidly. A silence fell over the group, lasting a few seconds before Katara broke the quietness.

"Rin, something happened to you back at the oasis," Katara reminded her. "Do you know why it happened?"

"I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, and fainted," Rin replied. "After that, not much else."

"Rin, you were more than unconscious," Katara explained. "The old man, the one who was traveling with Zuko, that helped us at the oasis-"

"Iroh," Rin clarified.

"Oh. Anyways, he took off your armor when he saw you on the ground, before we realized it was you under that armor. Why were you wearing that, anyways?"

"Sneaking in," Rin said simply. "It worked, up until that point.

"Oh, okay. Anyways, the armor was off, and you weren't breathing. I couldn't even feel a pulse. We tried everything, even emergency breathing, but nothing seemed to work," Katara explained. "We thought you were dead. It was only when Yue sacrificed herself and brought the moon back to life that you woke up and immediately chased after Zhao."

"So you think it has something to do with the moon?" Rin asked.

"We all felt it, when the moon was in trouble, and when it was killed," Aang said. "Maybe you felt it more than us."

"Maybe..." Rin muttered as the sun rose behind her. The four looked out at the sunrise illuminating the war-torn city. Finally, the battle was over.

* * *

><p><strong>BOOK ONE IS DONE! If you haven't noticed yet, Zuko is now a major character in this story. Does this mean romance? I don't know. However, he will definitely play a more major role than the earlier chapters. Even if I do have romance, this doesn't guarantee it will be Rin X Zuko (Riko? Zukin?), so don't expect anything. Additionally, the "mystery" genre is now taking effect! Who did Rin talk to in the spirit world? Take a guess, because I'm not telling you!<strong>

**Seriously though, I have plans for this story, and I hope you will like them as they come along. Thanks for reading. A review would give me good feedback on the story so I can improve, so it would be nice if you could leave one. As always, if you find any errors, please tell me. This is the fastest chapter I've written (6 days from start to finish), so hopefully you guys will see more frequent updates, though I'll make sure to not let quantity get in the way of quality (there's my excuse for not pumping out chapters this fast). Have a nice day, and once again, thanks for reading.**

**Update 7/15: I forgot to actually add Zuko in the character tags until now. Sorry.**


	10. The Avatar State

**Welcome back! A few things (nothing integral to the story, so if you're here for that go ahead and skip this):**

**1) It seems that I've unwittingly put two months between this chapter and the last, so sorry about that. School has started up, so I can't guarantee frequent updates, but I'll do the best that I can.**

**2) Thanks to Redleafs16 and "Me" for reviewing. About Rin's relationship, RinXSokka is definitely a possibility I've been considering, though I've considered Rin X any other character, so that's not saying much. Who knows, she may not end up with anyone at all. Even I don't know. For now, consider all relationships possible, except for maybe RinXZhao, RinXYue, or other stuff like that. Rin is not a necrophiliac. Also, thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, or read the story.**

**3) I know I've said this before, but another thanks to DreadingTheDayWhenYou'reGone for beta reading my story. He/she has been a great help. If you have the time, please go and support him/her by reading his/her stories.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: The Avatar State<strong>

"You're back again."

_I should be saying that to you. I thought you were a spirit. You shouldn't be here._

"Don't you remember? I'm more than just a spirit. I'm-"

_-part of me, I remember. You have some explaining to do._

"I cannot answer everything."

_Then what can you answer? Who are you?_

"A spirit, as well as part of you. I believe I already said so."

_That wasn't really the answer I was looking for, but okay. How are you talking to me? This isn't the Spirit World. I'm supposed to be in a hammock below deck, peacefully dreaming instead of talking to you._

"I'm part of you. Wherever you go, I go."

_Then why haven't we talked before I got pulled into the Spirit World by glowing spirit water? Where were you all this time?_

"I've been here longer than you can remember, Rin. I simply revealed myself to you when the time was right."

_You've been with me the entire time? Wait, do you know who I was before I woke up in the forest all those years back?_

"Yes, I do. I've been with you ever since you've been born."

_Really? You know who my family was? Where are they?_

"I... cannot tell you. That is something you must find out on your own."

_So if you didn't appear to give me answers... why are you here?_

"I need to give you one last thing. A gift from both me and my friends... as well as your past."

_What is it?_

"It's something you've always had. You'll know when you use it."

* * *

><p><em>It's still night... but I can't sleep.<em>

Rin was lying in her hammock as it gently swung from side to side, mimicking the gentle tilting of the Water Tribe ship as it sailed through the ocean, heading towards the Earth Kingdom.. She had just woken up from her dream - no, not a dream. She had been talking to that spirit again.

"Hopefully she doesn't appear every time I dream," Rin muttered, sitting up and swinging her legs out of the hammock. Aang and Sokka were sleeping soundly in their own hammocks, but Katara was nowhere to be seen. She climbed up to the deck. She looked around and saw Katara leaning against the railing, looking out towards the ocean. Rin silently walked up next to the Water Tribe girl, looking over the railing with her.

"I guess I'm not the only one who can't sleep," Rin remarked. For a few seconds they stood there, watching the stars fade in and out of the clouds. The moon was nearly full in the sky tonight, a reminder of the battle they were in just a day before. It was a peaceful scene: just the two girls, the vast ocean, and the dark sky filled with twinkling stars.

"Aang had a nightmare," Katara said, breaking the silence. "We came up here just a few minutes ago. He already went back below deck, but with a full moon, it's hard for me to do the same."

"It's weird thinking that the princess, Sokka's girlfriend, is now that giant ball in the sky," Rin said. She stared at the moon for a moment, then asked, "Did Aang tell you what his nightmare was about?"

"He had a nightmare about seeing himself in the Avatar State," Katara explained. "While it's powerful... it's also terrifying. He was scared of himself. "

"I can't imagine what it would be like to have so much power," Rin muttered. "Being able to control just one element already makes you powerful. To control all of them, and then become even stronger through some sort of glowing thing... I can see why he's scared. It's a lot of power for a single person, let alone a naive boy like Aang."

"He's not too naive, it's just that he's... an optimist," Katara said, turning to Rin. "He's cheerful, friendly, and likes to look on the positive side of things. He may have a lot to learn, but I think he knows what he has to do."

"Hopefully," Rin replied. They once again fell into silence, watching the dark waves below them roll past the ship. The stars were still glimmering in the sky, and the moon was still illuminating everything around them. They stood there, leaning on the railing as the ship quietly drifted through the waters towards the Earth Kingdom. This time, Rin broke the silence.

"I was thinking," Rin told Katara. "Do you remember, back when Sokka was trapped in a storm and I was too weak to stand? The day I formally met all of you?"

"I remember," Katara said, grinning and chuckling slightly. "I hated you a lot. Probably because you stole my stuff the day before." Rin wondered why she no longer hated her, possibly because of her saving Aang from the Fire Nation, or her volunteering for the Northern Water Tribe. Whatever it was, the two of them were a bit more civil when they spoke.

"I'm pretty sure I made up for that by rescuing Aang," Rin said. "But that's not what I wanted to talk about. I told you a bit about myself back in the cave, remember?"

"All you said was that you woke up in a forest or something."

"Well, that's about what happened. A few years ago, I woke up in a forest. I knew enough to function and barely survive, but that was it. I had no idea who I was, where I was from, or where I was going."

"So why are you bringing this up now?" Katara asked.

"I didn't really think much about my past before I met you three," Rin explained. "I focused on surviving and making sure that I would have enough money or food to make it to the next town. It was a lot simpler back then."

"It must have been hard to live like that," Katara commented. "Not to mention frightening, wondering if you would have enough for your next meal. It was similar back in the South, when we went hunting. All of our trade routes were blocked off by Fire Nation ships, so if we didn't manage to track and hunt enough prey, the village would starve. I still remember nervously waiting for Sokka to come back, not knowing whether we would have enough food or not."

"To be honest, it wasn't too hard to get enough to eat," Rin said. "But I didn't really focus on anything else until I met you. Now... I'm thinking of tracking down my past."

"Really? But how?" Katara asked. "Do you know where to start searching?"

"I'll be honest and say that I'm not sure," Rin muttered. "I have no idea where I actually came from. Maybe my family was fleeing the Fire Nation and I fell off a wagon or something, and we ended up on the opposite sides of the kingdom. I have no idea where to start."

"I see..." Katara said, sighing and looking over the railing towards the water. Suddenly, her face lit up. "Wait! I have an idea."

"What is it?" Rin asked.

"Even if you don't know your actual name, you should still be a citizen of the Earth Kingdom, right?" Katara asked.

"I guess so," Rin said. "But I didn't have a passport on me when I woke up, so I can't be sure."

"Well, I think we're going to have to pass by Ba Sing Se if we want to eventually take down the Fire Lord so that we can get help from the Earth King and his armies," Katara explained. "They should have some sort of archives library or records system. Just look for reports of a girl with your description who went missing a few years ago, and that should lead you to your family."

"I'm not too sure about that, but I can't think of anything else," Rin admitted. "However, even if there is a record about me, there's still a few problems."

"Yeah, how are you gonna get into the archives anyways?" Rin heard Sokka say behind her. Turning around, she saw Sokka climbing up onto the deck with his eyes half-shut, yawning. "No offense, but you're just some random girl from wherever, not to mention an outlaw."

"Well, I figured being a companion to the Avatar would help," Rin said to Sokka. "I thought you were asleep."

"It's hard to sleep when everyone's going in and out of bed all the time," Sokka muttered. "Seriously, you two are a lot louder than you probably think you are. Also, I have some business to take care of."

"Hm. Anyways, as I was saying, there might be a few problems," Rin said, turning back to Katara. "These are written records, right?"

"They probably are, what's the prob- oh," Katara replied. "Well, I guess I could help you go look through the archives, since you won't be able to read them."

"Really? Thanks," Rin said, before letting out a long yawn. "I'm tired. Let's go back and sleep."

"Agreed," Katara replied as she rubbed her eyes and started heading back down. Rin felt satisfied with herself; she was on her way to finding out her past, and hopefully discovering what the spirit was withholding from her.

"SOKKA!" Rin heard Katara shout from the deck. She immediately came back up on deck to see Katara, who had a disgusted look on her face. Sokka was standing against the railing with his pants halfway down, a golden stream of piss illuminated by the moonlight.

"That's the last thing I wanted to see tonight," Rin grumbled.

"What, did you want me to do it on the ship?" Sokka asked. "I told you that I had some business to take care of."

* * *

><p>"Hey, hurry up! We need to go!" Rin shouted down to the three others as they climbed onto Appa. It was morning once again, and the Northerners were saying their farewells before the group flew off. Master Pakku gave a couple of parting gifts: a box of waterbending scrolls to Aang, a vial of water from the spirit oasis for Katara.<p>

"Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base east from here," Pakku instructed. "General Fong will provide you with an escort to Omashu. There, you will be able to start you earthbending training with King Bumi."

"Got it. Yip yip!" Aang commanded, and they took to the air.

"Say hi to Gran-Gran for me!" Katara shouted back to the boat, waving to Pakku one last time before the ship receded into the distance.

"It shouldn't take long," Aang said. "Master Pakku said that the base should be next to the shoreline."

"We're finally going back to the Earth Kingdom," Rin sighed. "Where the temperature is above freezing and the ground is actually made of dirt."

"I thought you said that you weren't bothered by the temperature," Katara pointed out.

"I also wasn't bothered by the ground being ice," Rin replied. "It just, well, feels better in the Earth Kingdom. I guess I'm used to it. So, what's the plan?"

"We get Aang to Omashu and stay there until he finishes earthbending training with Bumi," Sokka explained. "After that, I'm not sure. It's going to be hard to find a firebending teacher."

"Maybe we should just go find Jeong Jeong?" Katara suggested.

"I don't think he's gonna want Aang as a student after Aang screwed up and burned Katara, from what I've heard," Rin said. "Also, we have no idea where to find him."

"Uh... we'll think of something after Aang learns earthbending," Sokka said. "There's got to be some firebenders that don't want to kill us."

"I know someone who might want to help," Rin muttered. "But I'm not sure where he is right now."

"That's the same situation we have with Jeong Jeong," Katara said. "I mean, if we can find either him or the person you know, that'll be great, but if we can't-"

"Hey, there it is!" Aang shouted, interrupting the conversation. Sokka, Katara, and Rin turned towards the front of the bison and saw the Earth Kingdom base reveal itself from behind a coastal mountain range. It consisted of a large tower surrounded by a large, flat area and smaller buildings, all surrounded by a high, circular wall. Raised paths led off in each cardinal direction, going through the mountains and out of sight. Aang brought Appa down onto the top of the tower, where a large group of soldiers were waiting for them.

"Welcome, Avatar Aang! I am General Fong," a man said, stepping up to the group as they climbed off Appa. Fong was an older man, with a large brown beard and a cape tied to the back of his armor.

"Wow, that guy has as much beard as Zhao had sideburns," Sokka whispered to Rin, who replied with a grumble of annoyance.

"And welcome to all of you great heroes!" General Fong continued. "Appa, Momo, brave Sokka, the mighty Katara, and... the cunning outlaw Rin, who has accumulated countless cases of thievery, armed robbery, and other various crimes while avoiding Earth Kingdom authority most of the time. However, you have stacked up many unanswered crimes."

"Uh..." Rin started, stepping back as everyone paused. For a moment, she considered rushing back to Appa and flying away, but the general suddenly smiled.

"However, such a noble cause as helping the Avatar on his quest is more than enough to repent and repay for such petty crimes. Welcome, all of you!" General Fong finished, and Rin let out a sigh of relief. Out of nowhere, fireworks started bursting above their heads to celebrate the arrival of the Avatar and his friends.

"That was a scare," Katara muttered, turning to Rin. "I guess you won't have to worry about going to jail anymore."

"I'm still a criminal in the Fire Nation, "Rin reminded Katara. "But then again, I think we all are."

"I will meet with all of you later," General Fong told the group, turning and waving farewell to the group. "We have a lot to discuss."

* * *

><p>The group went down the tower and met with General Fong in a large, circular chamber that looked big enough to hold every soldier inside the base. Though the sun still shone through the large windows, glowing green crystals were placed along the pillars supporting the tower, giving the chamber a dim, green hue.<p>

"Avatar Aang, we were all amazed at the tales of how you singlehandedly wiped out an entire Fire Navy fleet," General Fong said. He sat at a raised desk a few meters away from the group, who were sitting in the middle of the chamber. "I can't imagine how it must feel to wield such devastating power. It must be an awesome responsibility."

"I try not to think about it," Aang replied.

"Avatar," General Fong started before taking a pause. "You're ready to take on the Fire Lord now."

_What the heck? He's not even close!_

"What?" Aang exclaimed. "No, I'm not ready!"

"Aang still needs to master all four elements," Katara explained. "He's only mastered airbending so far. It would take months for him to learn the rest of the elements."

"Why wait for so long?" Fong argued. "With the kind of power he possesses, enough to destroy an entire fleet of battleships in a matter of minutes, he could defeat the Fire Lord now!"

"But the thing is, Aang can only do that when he's in the Avatar state," Sokka pointed out.

"You see, it's a special state where-"

"I'm well aware!" Fong exclaimed, interrupting Aang. "A state where your tattoos and eyes glow, and you can summon unbelievable power. Without you, we would be slaughtered before we reached their shores. But with you, our ultimate weapon, leading the charge, we can cut a path straight to the heart of the Fire Nation!"

"But... I don't know how to get into the Avatar State," Aang told Fong, "and I don't know what to do when I'm there."

"It's decided then," General Fong declared. "I'll help you figure out how to control the Avatar State. Then, you will face your destiny."

"No, nothing's decided," Katara argued, standing up. "We already have a plan. Aang is pursuing his destiny our way, not yours."

"Well, while you take your time learning the elements and pursuing your destiny, the war rages on," General Fong reminded the group. "Let me show you something that may change your mind."

General Fong took the group to a window overlooking the base. Below them, Rin could see many soldiers mingling around. Many were injured: broken bones, severe burns, even amputated limbs. Rin was sure that the number of injured troops outnumbered the ones who could fight. It was a spectacle of how much damage the war was doing, and Rin knew exactly why the general showed it to the group.

"Down there is the infirmary," Fong explained. "We are the closest base to the Fire Nation, so we often receive the soldiers that are too injured to fight before they are sent back home. Even then, these are the lucky ones. They came back. Many don't. Every day, the Fire Nation takes lives and loved ones. People are dying, Avatar Aang, and you could stop it now! Think about it!"

As General Fong walked away, Aang looked silently down at the injured soldiers. Rin knew that he was debating the two options in his mind, whether to try to master the Avatar state, or learn the elements in order. _I'm not sure what I would take myself, _Rin thought._ But I'm have a bad feeling about General Fong's idea._

* * *

><p>When the group arrived at their quarters, they immediately saw a glaring problem with the room: there were only three beds.<p>

"Well, I guess I'm sleeping on the floor tonight," Rin said, throwing her bag down on the floor. It was a fairly small room, with just the three beds and a couple of dim lanterns casting a dull, green glow over the room. The walls were plain and brown, and each bed had a footlocker at it's end, making Rin wonder if the room was supposed to be used for soldiers. After all, it was an army base, and one overflowing with injured personnel.

"Are you sure?" Aang asked. "We could go ask for a room change or something like that."

"Not likely," Sokka replied. "We passed by a lot of living quarters on the way here, and they were all occupied by either soldiers or injured people. Rin's lucky that she gets the floor to herself.

"Remember, don't unpack too much," Katara reminded the rest of the group. "We're leaving for Omashu first thing tomorrow. Aang needs to start learning earthbending."

"About that..." Aang muttered, trailing off into silence. Rin could see that the Avatar was having second thoughts. The general's speech must have gotten to him.

"Maybe we should stay here," Sokka suggested. "The general's plan seems pretty good if it works."

"I have a bad feeling about his idea," Rin said. "But I'm not sure why. I honestly don't see any downside to it. The worst that can happen is that we get delayed a few days when we find out the Avatar State can't be activated manually or something like that."

"I still think we should leave tomorrow," Katara said. "Let's do this the way we planned."

* * *

><p><em>Tap. Tap.<em>

_What was that?_

Rin woke up to a quiet, almost inaudible noise. As she focused, she realized that the noise was footsteps coming down the hall, heading towards their room.

_Who is that?_ Rin thought, silently getting up from the floor. It was still nighttime, but dim lanterns and torches lit the rooms and hallways, providing enough light to see. As the footsteps came down the hallway, Rin next to the doorway, ready to pounce onto the intruder if she deemed him or her hostile.

"I guess I'll tell them tomorrow morning. Time to get back to sleep."

Rin heard Aang's voice from the hallway and relaxed. She had completely missed the fact that Aang's bed was empty, but then again, she didn't expect the boy to be up so late. As Aang came around the corner towards his bed, Rin tapped him on the shoulder.

"Wha-"

"Be quiet, Katara and Sokka are still sleeping. What was it that you wanted to tell us?"

"I... I'll tell you all in the morning. I'm a bit sleepy right now."

"I'm right here, you know. Just tell me."

"Fine..." Aang sighed. "I decided to help General Fong. I'll try to unlock the Avatar state."

"Really? Then I guess we're not leaving tomorrow," Rin muttered. "Are you sure, though? I have an uneasy feeling about this."

"We'll be fine," Aang assured Rin. "Besides, less people will get hurt if I end the war sooner."

"Well, it's your call. I don't think Katara will be too happy, but whatever."

"Oh, right... she should understand."

"Who should understand?"

Katara sat up in her bed, surprising Rin and Aang. She still looked half-asleep, and her hair was a mess, but she was awake. The resulting commotion must have also woken up Sokka, because he sat up and stretched out his arms, asking, "What is it?"

"I told the general that I'd help him by going into the Avatar State," Aang explained.

"Aang, don't you remember our plan?" Katara asked. "This isn't the right way. You shouldn't be doing this."

"Why not? Remember when he took out the giant fleet of warships?" Sokka reminded his sister. "He was amazing!"

"There's a right way to do this," Katara insisted. "Practice, study, and discipline."

"Or just glow it up and stop the Fire Lord," Sokka suggested. "It worked against the Fire Navy."

"And we only had to sacrifice the moon spirit to make that happen," Rin pointed out. Once Rin made her comment, Sokka turned away and fell silent. "What major spirit do you want to kill this time so that Aang can 'glow it up' and defeat the rest of the Fire Nation?"

"Look, if you two meatheads want to throw away everything we've worked for, go ahead and glow it up!" Katara shouted at the two boys before heading towards the door.

"Katara, I don't have time to do this the right way! The comet will be here in less than-" Aang tried to tell Katara before she stormed out the door and slammed it shut behind herself. Aang sighed and sat back down on his bed.

"Oh, by the way, I was kidding about the spirit thing," Rin said to Sokka. "Forgot that's why your girlfriend died."

"It's okay," Sokka muttered back, but his actions said otherwise, as he was currently looking towards the wall on the other side of the bed. Rin regretted her little bit of sarcasm - she hadn't meant to hurt Sokka.

_I'll apologize to him in the morning_, Rin thought as she lay down on the floor, going back to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning, General Fong met with the group outside of the base, eager to start work on Aang's Avatar State. Rin didn't know what to expect, but she was thoroughly disappointed when the general led them to a tea table, a brewer boiling a pot of tea over a fire.<p>

"Wait, you're trying to activate the Avatar State with a cup of tea?" Rin asked.

"Not just a cup of tea. It's the tea that will bring the Avatar to a higher state!" General Fong exclaimed as he directed Aang to sit down.

"I don't know much about tea, but I'm pretty sure that a mouthful of hot leaf juice is not gonna give the Avatar absolute power," Sokka said.

"This isn't any regular tea," the brewer explained, pouring a cup of tea for Aang. "This rare chi-enhancing tea is a natural stimulant. In an ordinary warrior, it increases strength ten-fold. In the Avatar, it might just induce the Avatar State."

"Ten-fold energy, huh?" Aang commented, taking the cup of tea and downing the contents in one swift gulp. Everyone waited in anticipation as Aang sat still, waiting for the tea to take effect on his body. After a tense few seconds, his eyebrow started twitching.

"So, is it working? Are you-" Sokka asked before Aang suddenly blew past him, riding his air scooter up and around the walls faster than anybody could track.

"Isitworkingisitworkingicanttellidonthaveagoodviewofmyselfamiintheavatarstateyetamitalkingtooloud?" Aang chattered before descending into an incomprehensible series of high-pitched noises. Suddenly, as quickly as he had started up, Aang fell face-first on the floor and immediately went to sleep, quietly snoring while everyone else tried to understand what had just happened.

"I think he crashed and burned," Rin commented.

"Maybe he could talk the Fire Lord to death," Sokka suggested.

"The tea didn't work," General Fong muttered. "There must be another way."

* * *

><p>After going back inside of the base, General Fong led them to the top of the tower, where they all gathered in a large courtyard on the roof. It was about noontime, and the sun was beating directly on their heads. Rin flipped up her hood to protect herself from the rays of heat, but none of the others had that sort of luxury.<p>

"Maybe we could shock Aang into the Avatar State," Sokka suggested. "Who knows, it might work."

"You know him better than I do," General Fong replied. "Go ahead."

"Okay... Katara, Rin, I'm gonna need you over here for a moment. Aang, try not to listen," Sokka requested, taking the two girls off to the side and away from Aang.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Rin asked.

"Here's the plan. Katara, we'll need you to cover Aang's eyes. While Aang's blind, I'll duck down into my shirt and Rin will put Momo where my head was. It'll look like me, but with Momo's head!" Sokka explained. "It'll be perfect."

"That's the stupidest thing I've heard of," Rin groaned. It was a dumb plan, but then again, she could see it working on Aang. However, she had another idea brewing in her mind.

"Who knows, maybe the shock will knock him into the Avatar State," Katara suggested. "We don't have anything better to do."

"Actually, I have an idea-"

"Let's go, we shouldn't keep them waiting," Sokka said, interrupting Rin. "Rin, if this doesn't work, feel free to tell us your idea."

"Okay..." Rin sighed, going back over to Aang and General Fong. Katara got behind Aang while Rin and Sokka stood in front of him.

"Aang, we're gonna try to shock you into the Avatar State, so be prepared. Actually, don't, since we need to shock you," Sokka explained.

"Oh, I love surprises," Aang replied as Katara covered his eyes. Rin quickly grabbed Momo and, despite the lemur's best efforts to push itself loose and fly away, stuffed it down Sokka's shirt until only Momo's head peaked out of the hole where Sokka's head should have been. As Katara removed her hands from Aang's eyes, Momo let out an ear-piercing shriek into Aang's face.

"SHRIEEEK!"

"Ah!" Aang yelled, recoiling back before checking on his tattoos. "Still not glowing."

"A little help here?" Sokka asked as Momo dragged him around, trying to escape from the confines of the boy's shirt. Rin let out a small chuckle watching the scene before remembering what Sokka had told her.

"Hey, I have an idea. You mind if I go through with it?" Rin asked Aang.

"Sure, go ahea-" Aang started to say before Rin rushed him, knocking the boy to the ground. With one hand she grabbed Aang by the throat while pulling her hatchet out of her bag with the other. As she swung the blade of the hatchet towards Aang's neck, Katara knocked Rin off of the boy with a blast of water.

_Huh, no glowing._

"Rin!" Katara shouted, holding out a tendril of water defensively while Sokka picked up Aang from the ground. "What are you doing?!"

"Whoa, hold on, we said that he needed to shock him, right?" Rin asked, holding up her hands to show that she wasn't going to attack anymore. "I'm pretty sure that would have made Aang jump a bit. Sorry about that, by the way."

"At least tell one of us before you do it," Sokka grumbled, finally getting Momo out of his shirt. "I think you scared us more than you scared Aang."

"I don't think I had time to be scared," Aang commented. "It kinda happened too fast. Plus, you're a friend, and I kinda trust you enough to not, well, you know."

"So that was all pointless. Great," Rin grumbled. "So what's next?"

* * *

><p>"Is it just me, or did Aang suddenly go blind between the last time I saw him and now?" Sokka asked quietly, looking at the wildly-dressed Avatar standing in the center of the ceremonial chamber. He was wearing a blue fur coat, some sort of red skirt, a hat with large fronds protruding from the top, and a strange, five-inch wide belt.<p>

"Look, I don't know why he's dressed up like a clown either. Maybe the general's trying to embarrass him into the Avatar State," Rin replied before General Fong shushed them. The room fell silent as an old man walked up to a raised platform, holding a large metal dish in front of him.

"You are wearing a ceremonial piece of clothing from each of the bending nations," the old man began. "Now, I will join the four elements into one! Water, earth, fire, and air!"

_What is he - that's the stupidest thing I've ever seen_, Rin thought as she watched the old man add each of the ingredients into the metal dish. It seemed dumb already when he started pouring dirt and water into the dish, but then he grabbed a torch and threw it into the mixture. He literally threw a torch into mud. _This is just mud and a torch, and no amount of blowing air is going to help that._

"Four elements together as one!" the old man shouted, holding the dish high over his head before splattering the contents onto Aang.

"This is just mud!" Aang said, repeating Rin's thoughts.

"Well... is the mud working?" the old man asked. Aang started to say something, but his face suddenly started twitching, his mouth still open and about to give an answer.

"Aaaa-CHOOOO!" Aang sneezed, forcefully blowing the mud off of him and around the room, covering Rin, Katara, Sokka, and General Fong from head to toe.

"We need to find a way," Fong muttered.

"Hey, general," Rin said, turning to the man. "These ideas of yours aren't working. How long are you going to waste our time?"

"This is not wasted time," Fong argued. "I am weeding out the methods that don't work. Eventually, we will find a way to activate the Avatar State."

"And how long is that going to take?"

"As long as we need to achieve the Avatar State."

_Well, I guess I can't convince him,_ Rin thought, wiping the mud off her clothes. She looked over to Aang, who was taking off the soiled ceremonial apparel he had been wearing. Rin marched over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, grabbing his attention.

"Follow me outside. I want to talk to you."

* * *

><p>"What is it?"<p>

Rin and Aang were standing outside on a large balcony, watching the sun as it approached the horizon. It was almost sundown, but there was still plenty of daylight left before night came.

"I think we should leave and do the plan you guys originally had, learning the elements one by one," Rin said. "I don't think you'll learn how to activate the Avatar State here."

"Why's that? I don't see why we can't."

"The general doesn't know what he's doing, and I'm pretty sure his last try was clear evidence of that."

"Huh? It might have worked. I mean, combining the four elements doesn't seem too crazy. I am the Avatar after all," Aang said. "I can see why you don't like General Fong, with him being part of the Earth Kingdom government, but-"

"Aang, I don't hate the government; I just don't care about the laws it makes," Rin corrected Aang. "And that ceremonial clothing is just clothing. It's not going to make you magically go into the Avatar State. Besides, that's not the only reason I think we should leave."

"Then what's the other reason?" Aang asked.

"I don't think you're supposed to activate the Avatar State manually," Rin explained. "It's just a hunch of mine, but I've learned to trust my instincts, so I have a feeling that I'm right."

"Well... where did you get this 'hunch'?"

"I might be wrong since I don't really know a lot about the Avatar, but the Avatar is known for bending all four elements, right?" Rin asked as Aang responded with a nod. "I don't think the Avatar is known for glowing it up and becoming a weapon of mass destruction."

"That's right... I'm not supposed to be a weapon. I'm supposed to be a peacekeeper," Aang muttered. "But defeating the Fire Nation should be the quickest path to peace. If I learn how to control the Avatar state, I can restore order much quicker than if I try to master the elements."

"If you want to do that, then go ahead," Rin told Aang as she sighed. "But I'm not sure if this is the best way to do things, and I have a feeling that Katara feels the same way."

Rin then walked back inside, leaving Aang alone with his thoughts.

* * *

><p>"Do you think the general will be mad?"<p>

"What can he say? You're the Avatar. Who knows better than you?"

Rin woke up to the sound of Aang and Sokka quietly talking a few feet away from her. She opened her eyes to confirm that, yes, it was still nighttime. Rin yawned and sat up from the floor, alerting the two boys.

"So, you changed your mind?" Rin asked.

"I guess so," Aang replied. "I've been having dreams... no, nightmares about the Avatar State. I don't think I should be trying to activate it."

"Well, I guess you should probably listen to your dreams then," Rin advised. _Especially when they get invaded by a spirit and start talking back to you. Oh, speaking of spirits..._

"Sokka?" Rin called quietly, not wanting to wake up Katara.

"Mhm?" Sokka replied, tilting his head over to look at Rin..

"I... kinda want to apologize about the comment yesterday," Rin said. "About your girlfriend and the moon."

"Don't worry about it," Sokka replied. "I'm fine."

"You didn't look that way," Rin told him, remembering how he suddenly became silent when she mentioned the moon spirit. "Are you sure?"

"..."

"I'll take your silence as a no."

"It's hard," Sokka admitted as he started to tear up. "I was supposed to protect her, but I couldn't. I still remember the moment she fell, and her body went cold. It was dreadful."

"Before I met you guys, I made it a point not to get attached to anyone, so I can't really say I know how you feel. However, maybe if you let a bit of your grief out, help me understand what it's like... maybe you'll feel better," Rin said. "Remember, we're your allies. We can give you a shoulder to lean on if you feel tired, or someone to talk to when you're depressed."

"Thanks," Sokka muttered, wiping away his tears. "It's hard to keep it welled up inside, but I have to be strong, for me and my sister. By the way, I think it's time you called us something a bit more close than allies."

"What, you mean lovers?" Rin asked.

"What?! Not that close!" Sokka shouted, earning himself a glare from a half-asleep Katara. "I just mean friends. I mean, we've traveled together and looked after each other for at least a few months, I think we're past 'allies' by now."

"I've traveled with other 'allies' for longer than I've traveled with you guys, but that's a good point," Rin said. "I guess you guys are my friends... and my new family, seeing that I don't know where my old one is."

"I heard you and Katara talking back at the boat. You'll find them eventually," Sokka assured Rin.

"Hopefully," Rin muttered. "Anyways, we have a long day of traveling ahead of us now that we're leaving the base. We should sleep."

"Mhm."

* * *

><p>"Hey, what are you still doing here?"<p>

Once morning came around, Sokka and Aang went down to tell General Fong that Aang wasn't going to try to activate the Avatar State. Rin had been tasked with packing their equipment and bringing it up to the bison, but strangely, Katara had been lingering inside of their room, staring at a wall.

"I'm not going down there," Katara muttered. "What Aang and the general are doing... it's not right."

"So they should continue trying to get Aang to glow?" Rin asked. "I thought you were against that."

"Wait, what?" Katara asked back, confused. "What do you mean? I thought Aang and Sokka went to continue with General Fong."

"We had a talk last night while you were asleep. Aang doesn't want to bring around the Avatar State anymore," Rin explained.

"Oh. That's... a relief," Katara said. "So we're going back to the old plan."

"Exactly. Now, instead of standing around, help me bring all of the equipment up to Appa. We're leaving once the boys get back," Rin said.

"Okay."

After grabbing all of the group's equipment, Rin and Katara started climbing up the tower to where Appa was resting. As they stepped up staircase after staircase, Rin realized that climbing was much harder with two people's worth of equipment on her back.

_What I would give to install those elevators from the air temple,_ Rin thought as the two girls took a break on one of the upper levels. They sat down next to each other in the corner of a long hallway. They heard a commotion outside, but were too tired to get up and look out the window.

"What's going on down there?" Katara wondered out loud. "I thought they stopped with their crazy experiments."

"Who knows," Rin replied. "It's a base full of earthbenders. Maybe they're just training."

"It sounds too frantic to be training. Training is supposed to be orderly. It sounds like fighting," Katara said. "I'm going to go check."

"Go ahead," Rin muttered as Katara dumped the equipment off her back. She made her way over to the window and looked outside. Rin heard her gasp. "What is it? Fighting?"

"They're attacking Aang! We need to get down there!" Katara shouted. Rin quickly threw down her stuff next to Katara's and bounded down the stairs behind her. As they sprinted down the flights of stairs, Rin suddenly remembered back to yesterday.

_Threatening the Avatar with violence... I did that yesterday. Did I give Fong the same idea?_ It was a possibility. General Fong was determined to bring about the Avatar State, and it seemed that he would do anything, even attack the Avatar. As they reached the bottom of the tower, the two girls found Sokka running towards the fight.

"What's going on?" Katara asked. "Why are Aang and the soldiers fighting?"

"The General's gone crazy! He's trying to force Aang into the Avatar State!" Sokka explained as they ran outside. Aang was trying to avoid disks of stone that were being thrown around by soldiers. The three immediately went to work, protecting Aang and taking down soldiers.

"Aang, get out of here! Get to the bison!" Rin shouted, clubbing a soldier over the head with the blunt side of her hatchet. "Remember, if you escape, the general has no reason to fight the rest of us!"

"I don't have my glider!" Aang shouted back. "I left it with Appa!"

"Then run up there! You have legs!" Rin yelled. Aang jumped over Fong's head and was about to escape into the building with Sokka, who had somehow managed to commandeer an ostrich-horse and was right behind the airbender, leaving Katara and Rin alone with an entire base full of soldiers, along with a crazy general.

"You may be able to evade me, Avatar, but your friends can't!" Fong shouted to Aang. The soldiers gathered around the general and the two girls, creating a wall of earth disks so that the only way out was through the general.

_I'll accept that challenge_, Rin thought, charging Fong with her hatchet drawn back, ready to leap forward and attack him. Katara had the same idea, throwing a tendril of water directly at the general. However, in one smooth motion, he drew multiple pillars of sand to block the water, turning it into harmless mud. He then drew his fist down, sinking Rin's legs into the ground.

"I can't move!" Rin heard Katara shout behind her. Looking back, she saw Katara struggling to pull herself free from the ground.

"Here goes nothing," Rin muttered, looking at the bag of stones attached to her waist that she used to defeat Hahn back at the North Pole, along with so many other muggers, soldiers, and rich-looking people. She untied the entire bag from her waist and, with a grunt, heaved it towards General Fong's head. It wasn't until he raised his hand and the bag stopped in midair that Rin realized her stupidity. _Oh, right. Earthbender._

"Don't hurt them!" Aang shouted, leaping towards Fong and throwing a gust of wind at him, which he blocked with a wall of earth. Suddenly, Rin and Katara sank up to their waists.

"Katara, I'm coming!" Sokka shouted, trying to charge past General Fong, but a stomp buried Sokka's ostrich-horse into the ground and sent him flying over the wall of earth disks.

"Stop! You have to let them go!" Aang pleaded, latching onto General Fong's hand, but the boy's words were ignored.

"You could save them if you were in the Avatar State!" Fong shouted, sinking the two girls deeper into the ground.

"I'm trying!" Aang said as his eyes started to well up with tears.

"Get him! He's right in front of you!" Rin shouted, expecting Aang to blow away the general at any second. However, the intensity of the situation, coupled with the boy's sobbing, blocked out her words.

"I don't see glowing!" General Fong said, sinking the two girls to their shoulders.

"You don't have to do this!" Aang pleaded once again, kneeling down in front of the general.

"Apparently, I do," Fong replied as the ground reached to Rin's chin.

_Not now. I fell off a cliff and survived. I battled at the North and survived. I can't be killed by some crazy general. I can't die because the Avatar can't attack what's in front of him. I can't die here. I want to find my family. I want to liv-_

Rin's head finally sank into the ground, and everything went black.

* * *

><p>Everything was black again. Just like before. Rin had a feeling she knew why.<p>

_Is it time? Did I die?_

"No. It's merely the beginning."

_Unless the gift was earthbending, I'm pretty sure I'm dead._

"No... but that doesn't mean you won't use my gift right after our conversation."

_What?_

"It's exactly how I said it. Now go back... and tell an old friend that I said hello."

* * *

><p>The first thing Rin noticed was the fierce wind blowing against her. She opened her eyes and saw a giant tornado of dust in the middle of the base, Aang riding atop the cyclone in the Avatar State. Katara was lying beside her. General Fong stood on the other side, calling towards the Avatar.<p>

"Avatar Aang, can you hear me?!" the general shouted into the wind. "Your friends are safe! It was just a trick to trigger the Avatar State! And it-"

"YOU ASS!" Rin shouted, grabbing General Fong by the back of his uniform and throwing him to the ground. She jumped onto him and grabbed his face, repeatedly slamming the general into the stone courtyard. She noticed her hand becoming unbearably hot, but she didn't care. "You almost killed me!"

"It was just a - Stop! Stop! IT BURNS!" the general cried out, confusing Rin for a second before a giant blast of wind blew her off of the general and into a nearby building. As she got up, she saw that the entire base was devastated by Aang. Cracks lined the ground, the wooden buildings were splintered and torn, and the tower had cracks running up to the top.

_Wow... I never knew it was this powerful. I mean, they told me about it, but wow..._ As Rin stood up, a stinging pain shot up through her right arm, the one that she had grabbed the general's face with. Looking down, she gasped.

"What the..." Rin muttered before the pain hit her. Her arm was covered in one large burn, reaching all the way up to her elbow. The skin was a feverish red, and blisters marked the surface of her hand and forearm. As she moved her other hand closer, she could feel the heat radiating off the burn. Wincing in pain, Rin walked off to meet with Katara, who was comforting Aang. _I need to get this to her. Hopefully, she can heal this._

"I'm sorry, Katara. I hope you never have to see me like that ever again," Aang muttered as Katara held him.

"Are you joking? That was almost perfect! Now we just need to think of a way to control you!" Rin heard General Fong say from behind her. Turning around, she saw Fong approaching the three, covered in dust and debris. A hand-shaped patch on his face was burned - no, not burned, scorched. The skin was raw and blistered, and some of it had outright been scorched black. _Did... did I do that?_

"You're out of you're - what happened to your face?" Aang asked, shocked by the injury. "Did I do that?"

"No, you can blame your impulsive firebender friend here. But no matter! We can think of a way to control the Avatar State on our way to the Fire Nation," General Fong said before Sokka strolled up behind him on an ostrich-horse and clubbed him in the head, knocking him out.

"Anyone got a problem with that?" he asked, and the soldiers shook their heads.

"Do you... still want an escort to Omashu?" one of the soldiers offered.

"I think we're all set," Katara replied.

"I mean, we have a bison. All you guys have are ostrich-horses," Rin added. "Hey, Katara, can you look at this for me?"

"Sure, what is it?" Katara asked. "And what did he say about a firebender-"

"Look," Rin interrupted, holding out her injured arm to Katara. "I did that. I think he's talking about me."

"You're... you're a firebender?" Katara asked, surprised. "Can a firebender even burn themselves?"

"I don't know. I just found out I was a firebender a few seconds ago, if that's even the case," Rin explained. "I didn't even see any fire. It was just... hot."

"I don't have any water with me right now. Once we get back to Appa, I'll heal you," Katara told Rin.

"Let's go," Rin said.

* * *

><p>"So, you burned General Fong's face?" Aang asked. They were flying towards Omashu, away from the base. The sun had already started to set. "You were a firebender all this time?"<p>

"I guess? It's not like I knew before today," Rin said, punching the air and trying to create a fireball. However, nothing happened. "I can't seem to firebend right now. Maybe burning General Fong's face was a fluke or something?"

"Well, I guess he deserved getting his face burned off. But wait, aren't you from the Earth Kingdom?" Sokka asked. "If anything, shouldn't you be an earthbender?"

"Maybe I'm from the colonies," Rin surmised.

"If that's the case, then I don't think there will be records of your family at Ba Sing Se," Katara said. "They'll either be in the Fire Nation or the colonies."

"That's true... wait, don't you guys hate firebenders or something like that?" Rin asked. "Didn't they kill your families or something? If your uncomfortable traveling with me, then I can leave, if you want."

"... the Fire Nation did that. Not just firebenders," Aang explained. "Jeong Jeong was a firebender, but I wanted him to teach me firebending."

"And we've traveled too long together to hate you," Katara added. "Now, let me see your arm."

"Okay, go ahead," Rin said, sticking out her arm. However, this time, the skin was not burnt and blistered but delicate and pink, as if it had already been healed. _I... I swear it was burned. The heat, the pain, that couldn't have been fake._

"This can't be right," Katara muttered, holding the water out in a globe over Rin's arm. "I saw your arm. It was burned and blistered all over..."

"That's not normal," Sokka said. "That's definitely not normal. Burns don't heal that fast."

"Nothing's really normal for me at this point," Rin sighed. "First I'm a firebender, and now this..."

_Not to mention I've been speaking to a spirit in my dreams. Maybe this was the gift she was talking about?_

_I'll have to have a talk with her when we meet again._

* * *

><p><strong>A few after-chapter things I want to talk about (Again, not integral to the story).<strong>

**I've had an idea for a new fanfiction, but with this one currently going, I'm not sure if I want to start it before I end this one. The ideas for the new story have been swirling around my head for a few days/weeks. It will be an A:TLA story, since that's the fandom I'm most familiar with, but that's not to say I don't have ideas for stories about other fandoms. I'm actually being careful to separate ideas from this story and the one I have planned in my head, going to the point where I've reworked both future and already-told events so that they won't overlap with my new story (don't worry, I'll make sure this doesn't detract from the quality or plot either story).**

**I would appreciate it if you, the readers, would leave a review. It doesn't matter whether the review is a single sentence about your opinion on the story or a multi-paragraph essay on how (insert character here) is out of character. Actually, right now I'm worried that the established canon characters (mostly the gaang) are out of character, or dull, outside of already-made scenes (scenes where I take lines from the show). However, if you just want to say whatever you think of the chapter, that's completely fine, as it lets me know that you guys read and appreciate my story. So, on your way out, please leave a review.**


	11. The Cave of Two Lovers

**A few things before we get started.**

**1) So, I've been gone for, what, four months? Sorry about that. School started up, and I haven't had too much time to write. **

**2) Thanks to all of you who reviewed, followed, favorited, or simply read the story! If you can, please leave a review on your way out.**

**3) Once again, thanks to ****DreadingTheDayWhenYou'reGone for going over and editing my story.**

**Let's get started.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: The Cave of Two Lovers<strong>

_Concentrate._

_Aang said that Jeong Jeong told him something about the sun... let's go with that._

_Focus on the heat of the sun._

Rin shut her eyes and sat still, focusing on the rays of heat beating against the back of her neck. However, she was constantly distracted by the sound of the rest of the group splashing in the water. Rin sighed inside at their playfulness, but tried to keep her attention on her mind, on the sun beating across her back.

They had stopped to take a break at a shallow river, giving Katara and Aang a good place to practice waterbending. Rin wanted to take the time to try to control her newly found abilities. She had been attempting firebending for over an hour, and it proved no results.

"Hey, Aang!" Rin shouted from the riverbank to the middle of the river where Katara was teaching Aang waterbending. "What did Jeong Jeong teach you? I can't seem to get this right."

"He said to concentrate on your breath. It's the source of a firebender's power," Aang replied. Rin nodded and started concentrating once again, this time focusing on her breathing.

"Any fire yet?" Sokka asked, lazily drifting by on a giant leaf.

"Not with you breaking my concentration," Rin growled. "This is frustrating."

"Well, don't take too long. We have a lot of ground to cover if we want to get to Omashu by sundown," Sokka said. "Aang, Katara, that goes to you two as well. You might want to get out of the water and dry up soon."

"Well, it certainly doesn't look like you're ready to go, Mister Naked Guy," Katara replied, watching Sokka float past her with nothing more than an improvised loincloth.

"Look, I can get ready in two minutes. Seriously, whenever," Sokka said. As the two waterbenders went back to their training, Rin closed her eyes once again, trying to concentrate.

_Okay, breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. In. Out. In. out. In-_

"Don't fall in love with the traveling girl, she'll leave you..."

Rin grumbled as she was interrupted once again, this time to the sound of singing and instruments. She opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the noise, as did the rest of the group. A band of people, dressed in bright colors, wearing travel packs, and carrying musical instruments, emerged from the woods, singing a song. At the sight of Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Rin, they stopped. "Hey, river people!" the man in front exclaimed. He was middle-aged, wore a blue robe, a funny red hat, and a lute.

"We aren't river people," Katara said.

"Well... what kind of people are you?"

"Just... people," Aang answered.

"Aren't we all," the man said as Sokka rolled off his leaf and splashed into the water.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked as he got up and approached the band of musicians.

"I'm Chong, and this is my wife, Lily. We're nomads, happy to go wherever the wind takes us," Chong said, strumming a small tune from his instrument as he spoke.

"You guys are nomads?" Aang asked, grinning with excitement. "That's great, I'm a nomad too!"

"So am I!" Chong replied.

"Yeah... you just said that," Aang pointed out.

"If you don't have anything to do with us, then leave," Rin told Chong. "Go on to wherever you were going."

"Hold on, Rin, they don't have to," Katara said. "They can stay here if they want to. It's not like they're gonna hurt us."

"Yeah, what's the harm, young lady?" Chong asked. "It's always a pleasure to hear the tales of a few strangers."

"Some strangers bring more than stories," Rin grumbled. "Maybe they'll bring knives or swords. You've been on the road for a long time, you should know what I'm talking about."

"Now, you're looking on the bad side of life, young lady," Chong said before letting out a chuckle. "You've gotta look on the bright side of things. You say the cup is half empty, I say it's half full, you know what I mean?"

"Look, I'm sure Rin's just gotten off on a bad foot with you," Katara assured Chong. "We'd be happy to chat for a little while."

* * *

><p>"So, how long do you think your sister meant by 'a little while'?" Rin asked Sokka as they watched Aang, Katara, and the nomads lazing around by Appa.<p>

"Probably too long. We need to get going," Sokka replied. Rin nodded, and the two walked over to where Aang and Chong were laying against Appa.

"Sokka, Rin, you should hear some of these stories," Aang said, sitting up. Rin saw that the nomads had made a lei of flowers for Aang, which he put on his head. "These guys have been everywhere!"

"Well, not everywhere," Chong said. "But where we haven't been, we've heard about through stories and songs.

"He said they'll take us to see a giant nightcrawler," Aang added. "On the way there, we'll see a waterfall that makes a never-ending rainbow!"

"Look, I hate to be the wet blanket here, but since Katara is busy, I guess it's up to me," Sokka said, earning himself a glare from his sister, who was getting her hair braided by Lily. "We need to get to Omashu. No sidetracks, no worms, and definitely no rainbows."

"Whoa, looks like someone has a case of destination fever," Chong said. "You're worried too much about where you're going."

"You need to focus less on the where, and more on the going," Lily added.

"Look, if we wanted to see a waterfall or nightcrawler, we would have made that our destination," Rin replied. "Our where is Omashu, and our going is the fastest route there."

"O. Ma. SHU!" Sokka repeated. "We need to go there now!"

"Sokka's right," Katara said. "We need to find King Bumi so Aang can learn earthbending."

"Oh, sounds like you're headed to Omashu!" Chong exclaimed as Sokka facepalmed and Rin let out a frustrated groan. "There's an old story about a pass that goes right through the mountains."

"Is it real?" Katara asked. "Or is it just a legend?"

"Oh, it's a real legend all right. As old as earthbending itself," Chong replied before strumming his lute, prompting all the other nomads to break out their own instruments and start playing to his beat. "Two lovers, forbidden from one another, a war divides..."

_And there they go singing again. Can we just get up and fly over to Omashu already?_ Rin asked herself, tuning out the singing of the nomads._ At least Katara and Sokka somewhat agree-_

"SECRET TUNNEL!" Chong suddenly sang loudly, jerking Rin out of her thoughts. "Secret tunnel! Through the mountains, secret secret secret secret tunnel! Yeah!"

"I think we'll just stick to flying," Sokka said as Aang, Katara, and the nomads clapped for Chong. "We've dealt with the Fire Nation before. We'll be fine."

"And it's a lot faster than making our way through a tunnel that may or may not exist," Rin added, walking past the nomads and climbing onto Appa.

"Thanks for the help, but Appa really hates going underground," Aang said as he climbed up after Rin. "And we need to do whatever makes Appa most comfortable."

* * *

><p>"We've got a dozen fireballs coming behind us!" Rin shouted, gripping the saddle for her life. Apparently, the Fire Nation had enough luck to have set up catapults right below Appa's flight path, and they were now dodging them through the air. They were doing their best to avoid getting shot down by a barrage of giant fireballs.<p>

"AHHHH!" Aang and the two siblings screamed as Appa dipped and dived through the fireballs. Rin ducked down as one barely missed the bison, so close that if Rin reached up, she could have touched it.

"Aang! We need to land!" Katara shouted.

"Already on it!" Aang replied, pulling Appa's reigns and driving him towards the ground. They crashed through the forest, snapping branch after branch before hitting the ground with an ungraceful _thud_, throwing everyone out of the saddle and onto the ground.

"So I guess we can't fly," Rin said as everyone dusted themselves off. "Now what? Should we just hike up and down the mountain?"

"We could go to the tunnel the nomads were singing about before," Aang suggested. "Remember? They were singing about a tunnel through the mountains that goes to Omashu."

"Fine..." Sokka sighed. "Secret love cave, let's go."

* * *

><p>After trudging through the forest for several minutes, the group came across Chong and the nomads, who agreed to lead them to the cave. A short walk after that led them to a path cutting into the mountain, which was surrounded by crumbling ruins.<p>

"So, how long until we reach the tunnel?" Sokka asked.

"Actually, it isn't really just one tunnel," Chong explained. "The lovers didn't want anyone finding out about their love, so they built a whole labyrinth!"

"WHAT?!" Sokka exclaimed.

"So you're telling us we have to go through a giant underground maze?" Rin asked. "I think we should just hike over the mountain. It's hard to get lost going up and down."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll figure it out," Chong assured them. "Even if we get lost a few times, it'll probably still be faster than going around."

"All we need to do is trust in love... according to the curse," Lily explained, and Sokka stopped. Rin could almost see the gears turning in his head as he processed what Lily just said.

"This just keeps on getting worse for us, doesn't it," Rin said as he passed by the immobile Sokka. As Sokka passed by the entire group, he let out a loud groan.

"Augh! Curse?!" Sokka shouted. "Now you mention a curse?"

"Oh hey, we're here!" Chong suddenly said. In front of them was the opening to a large tunnel, surrounded by moss and shrubbery. A large inscription stuck out above the opening, with a column of characters imprinted upon it; of course, Rin couldn't decipher any of them. It probably said "Lovers Cave" or something like that.

"So, what is this curse?" Sokka asked.

"Well, the curse says that only those who trust in love can make it through the caves," Chong explained. "Otherwise, you'll be trapped forever."

"And die," Lily added.

"Well, isn't that kind of a given?" Rin asked.

"Not necessarily," Chong replied. "Oh hey, I just remembered the rest of the song!"

Chong walked up to the entrance of the tunnel, cleared his throat, and strummed once before singing, in a deep voice, "And dieee..."

"Well, that's reassuring," Rin muttered. "We can still hike over the mountain, right? Anyone want to do that instead of going through the cave of death?"

"I agree. There's no way we're going into that cursed hole!" Sokka declared.

"Oh hey, someone's making a big campfire," one of the nomads said, pointing back away from the mountain towards a rising pillar of smoke.

"That's no campfire," Katara muttered.

"It's the Fire Nation," Sokka said. "I think they've been tracking us."

"They're close. I can already hear them coming," Rin observed. "So I guess we can't go over the mountain."

"So all you need to do is trust in love to get through the caves?" Aang asked Chong.

"That's correct, Mister Arrowhead," Chong replied. Rin noticed Aang turn around and stare at Katara, who was facing back towards the smoke.

"We can make it," Aang declared. "We're going through the caves."

"Well, I guess that's it then. Everyone into the hole!" Sokka ordered. As they passed the entrance to the cave, Appa's steps grew slow and apprehensive, but he continued. Behind them, Rin could make out Fire Nation tanks coming towards the cave before coming to a halt.

"Hey, they're not attacking," Aang said. "Maybe if we wait long enough, they'll leave and we can go back over the mountain."

"I'm not so sure," Rin replied as grappling hooks shot out of the fronts of the tanks, latching onto the rock above the entrance. They then pulled back, starting a rockfall in front of the cavern.

"They're sealing us in!" Sokka shouted. Everyone looked in shock as the light from the entrance of the tunnel suddenly faded out, leaving everyone in darkness.

"Aang, could you get Appa to stop hugging the wall so we can get going?" Rin asked as the bison banged against the sealed entrance, futilely trying to make his way back to open air.

"I'll try," Aang replied, jumping up in front of Appa and patting him on the nose. "Calm down, boy. I know you want to get outside, but we can't right now."

"It's okay, Appa," Katara added, stroking the bison's side. "We'll be fine... I hope."

"Come on, let's go!" Rin said, going deeper into the cavern in hopes that the rest of the group would follow.

"Wait, Rin. We need a plan first," Sokka said, before turning to the nomads who were carrying torches. "Chong, how long do those torches last?"

"Uh, about two hours for each torch," Chong replied.

"And we have five torches," Lily added, setting each torch ablaze. "So that's ten hours!"

"It doesn't work if you light them all at the same time!" Sokka shouted, taking the torches and stomping them out on the ground. "Look, I'm going to make a map so that we can keep track of where we've been before. That way, we can solve it like a maze."

"Sounds good," Rin said. The entire group, including the nomads, then walked together into the darkness, with Sokka leading the way with his map.

* * *

><p>"And another wall. Does this place actually have an exit?" Rin asked. They had been wandering around the cave for at least a few hours, having gone through one torch already. In the back of her mind, Rin hoped that they would be lucky and would be able to find the exit right away, but they had no such luck.<p>

"Maybe not, seeing that this is the tenth dead end we've seen," Katara replied. "Sokka, didn't you make a map of this area?"

"It's not the map that's the problem," Sokka muttered, turning the map over and over with a frustrated look growing on his face. "I don't get it. We've been through here before."

"You don't need a map," Chong said. "You just need love. The little arrowhead knows it."

"Well yeah, but I wouldn't mind a map either," Aang said. Sokka went around the wall of the tunnel, muttering to himself before stopping.

"There's only one explanation," he said, turning around. "The tunnels are changing."

"Really?" Rin asked. "That can't be possible. If so much rock moved that the tunnels were completely blocked off, we would have heard it.."

"From what we've explored so far, this tunnel system is huge," Sokka explained, showing Rin the map. Rin was surprised; the cave system that they had walked through so far was a lot bigger than she had imagined. "If the tunnels changed, we could have been far enough so that we couldn't hear it."

"The tunnels, they're a-changin!" Chong exclaimed, running around in a panic. "It must be the curse! Oh, I knew we shouldn't have come down here!"

"Right, because we should have listened to you the whole time," Sokka said sarcastically. Suddenly, Rin heard a snarl from deep inside the cave.

"I don't think we're alone in here," Rin warned.

"I hear it too. Everybody, be quiet and listen," Katara ordered. Chong stopped running around and everyone stood still, waiting. The snarling in the darkness grew louder. Rin drew her hatchet out of her bag in anticipation of who - or what - was approaching them. Suddenly, a large, screeching brown shape flew out of the darkness, swooping towards the group.

"It's a giant flying thing with teeth!" Chong exclaimed, cowering in the corner of the cave.

"No, it's a wolf-bat!" Sokka shouted as the creature flew over his head.

"It doesn't matter what it is, kill it!" Rin shouted, jumping at the wolfbat with her hatchet raised over her head. However, as she was about to sink the blade of the hatchet into the wolf-bat's neck, it darted out of the way and towards Sokka, who attempted to ward it off with a torch. An errant flame leaped out from the torch as he waved it around, landing on Appa's toes.

"Appa, no!" Aang shouted as the bison ran around, roaring in pain. He rammed against the sides of the cavern, and after a few hits, Rin noticed cracks forming in the wall.

"Aang, calm him down!" Rin shouted. "He's gonna collapse the cavern!"

"I'm trying!" Aang shouted back as he ran after Appa. The cracks continued to spread upwards along the cavern wall, reaching the ceiling and breaking apart the roof of the cavern. An avalanche of rocks started falling down, threatening to crush everyone in the tunnel.

"Everyone, get away!" Rin shouted before spotting a large boulder falling directly towards Sokka. With adrenaline pumping through her body, she sprinted over to him and tackled him to the ground. A sharp pain shot through her body as she heard a distinct snap before everything went black.

* * *

><p>"Rin?"<p>

_... huh? Where am I?_

"Rin, are you there?"

_Is that Sokka? What happened? I pushed him to safety, and then-_

"UAAAAGH!" Rin screamed as a searing jolt of pain shot out from her left leg and throughout her body, feeling as if a moose-lion was trampling over her bones. Something heavy was crushing her legs, preventing her from moving.

"Rin, is that you? Are you okay?" Rin heard Sokka ask. As his footsteps came closer, Rin opened her eyes, only to find total blackness surrounding her.

"I'm alive..." Rin managed to whisper. "What happened? Where are the others?"

"We got separated during the collapse. I think it's only the two of us here right now," Sokka explained. "Could you speak up again? I can't see anything."

"Over he- AUGH!" Rin grunted before another jolt of pain coursed through her leg.

"What happened?" Sokka asked as Rin felt his hand touch her shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure my legs are messed up," Rin replied. "There's something heavy on them. Go see if you can move it."

"I'll take a look," Sokka said, stepping away. After a minute, Rin felt the object shift, causing a third jolt of pain to run through her body.

"AAUGH!"

"Sorry!" Sokka called as the shifting, as well as the pain, stopped. "I think a boulder landed on your legs during the collapse."

"Well, hurry up and get it off," Rin grunted.

"Okay, give me a second," Sokka muttered. Rin felt the boulder slowly roll off her legs, giving her the ability to move again. However, when she tried to move, her left leg protested, wracking her body with pain.

"Sokka... I think my leg's broken," Rin said. "Maybe you can go and find the others. Bring Katara here to heal my leg."

"I'm not leaving you here," Sokka replied. "I'll fix up your leg and carry you out of here."

"Really?" Rin asked. "I'm not that light, you know. Who knows how long you're going to have to carry me for."

"The tunnels can change. We might lose you," Sokka argued. "Plus, this area might still be unstable from the collapse. I'm not leaving you to get hurt."

"Thanks, I guess," Rin sighed. "We're going to have to do something about my leg, though."

"Don't worry, I learned how to splint a broken leg back home," Sokka said. "I fell off my watchtower, and Katara got to explain it to me using my own leg as an example."

"How'd you fall?" Rin asked.

"I.. fell asleep and tumbled down the side," Sokka admitted, before focusing back on Rin's injury. "I'm going to need some light first. I can't see a thing."

"There's a torch in my bag," Rin said, taking it off her back and rummaging through it. She found the unlit torch and handed it to Sokka.

"Okay, now I need... huh, this is the torch that the nomads were carrying, right?" Sokka asked.

"Hey, it's not like they needed all five of them," Rin said.

"Eh, I guess that's true. Now we just need to light it," Sokka muttered. "You got any spark rocks?"

"I should have some," Rin replied, rummaging through her bag once again. However, after a few minutes of searching, she came up empty-handed. "Sorry, nothing."

"You sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"Okay, we have a torch and no way to light it. That's just great" Sokka sighed. "Wait, Rin, you're a firebender now, right?"

"Well, I've burned someone's face off, if that's what you mean," Rin replied. "I haven't been able to do it since, though."

"Well, there's no time like the present," Sokka said, handing Rin the torch.

"Here goes nothing," Rin muttered. She held the end of the torch in her right hand, closed her eyes, and tried to remember how she was able to firebend before.

_How did I feel when I burned that guy's face off? Angry? Let's try that..._

Rin thought about her past, how she had to fend for herself for three whole years while everyone around her had a stable life, without having to worry about the next day. _How all those nobles, those spoiled shitheads who don't know a thing about what I've had to go through, looking down on me like I'm dirt, like I'm the trash of society when they're prancing around in all of those damn jewels, gold, fancy crowns, I swear I could murder-_

_Stop._

Rin's concentration broke as she heard someone in the darkness. "Sokka, is that you?"

"Is what me?" Sokka asked back. "Did you hear something?"

"Uh..." Rin muttered. "I think so?"

_He can't hear me. I'm speaking directly into your mind._

"Oh, uh... never mind," Rin muttered before turning her attention away from Sokka._ You're the voice from my dreams, aren't you?_

_Correct. I see that you're trying to firebend... but you're not doing it correctly. Instead of-_

_Cut this shit out,_ Rin interrupted. _I'm not going to listen to a word you're saying until you tell me WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE AND WHERE THE HELL I CAME FROM-_

_I'm sorry!_ the voice said, and Rin swore that she heard the voice sob a bit. _It's just - well, I can't tell you-_

_Why not?! You said you've been hitchhiking in me for years! why do you have any right to keep information about me to yourself-_

_I just can't!_ the voice said before it started to cry. _I - I - I just wanted to.._. The voice started sniffling, like it was sobbing.

Rin silently listened to the voice sob in the back of her mind. She started to feel sorry for her - the voice reminded Rin of when she had first awoken. She recalled a particular incident where she tried to take an apple from a fruit stand, and the merchant grabbed her, berated her, and reduced her to tears. She'd learned a lot since then.

_Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you, but that doesn't mean I'm not angry about whatever you're not telling me._

The was a pause on the other end while the voice tried to quiet its sobs. _Okay. I'm really sorry, but there are some things that I don't really want to tell you..._

_Yes, I know, and I doubt you'll tell me anytime soon. Now get on with it, what were you trying to tell me about firebending?_

_Well... you were trying to firebend with anger, with hate. That's not what firebending is about._

_But Zuko uses his rage to firebend, doesn't he? I remember him telling me that way back when, and if you were with me, you should have -_

_Well... I guess you could... but I think it would be better if you didn't. If I remember correctly -_

_If you remember correctly? What do you mean? You seem to know more about me than I do, don't you?_

_This is just something I remember from quite a few years ago. I'm not even sure if it will work with you because -_

The voice halted, and Rin asked, _Because what_?

_Nevermind. Anyway, the energy from firebending doesn't come from rage or anger. It comes from life, the energy within yourself. Concentrate on your chi, and push it out of your body._

_The energy within myself, huh_. Rin concentrated, focusing on her energy and where it was coming from. She could feel a well of energy in her chest, steadily burning like a furnace stoked with wood. Rin was surprised at how obvious it was._ How had I not noticed this energy until now? Did I just never look for it?_

_Good. Now, extend that chi outwards, out of your limbs. Use that energy to create fire._

Rin willed the energy out through her arm, towards the torch. Despite the cold, dry air of the cave, she felt a drop of sweat roll down her forehead and drip down onto her leg. The energy was still burning brightly in her chest, but a tendril of it had seeped into her arm, reaching for the torch in her hand. However, a sharp pain was also developing in her arm, hampering her concentration.

"Grrrrrr..." Rin growled as she tried to concentrate, despite the growing pain in her arm. Her eyelids were tightly closed, her concentration dedicated to the tendril of energy that was snaking its way out of her arm and to the torch. Suddenly, she heard a pop, followed by Sokka's shout.

"It's lit! You did it!" Sokka shouted, grabbing the torch from Rin's hand. Rin sat up and looked around the brightly lit cave, but a burning pain in her arm drew her attention.

"What the -" Rin gasped, seeing the arm she had just firebent through. From the top of her fingers to her shoulder, the skin was blistered and burnt, with the flesh exposed and charred in large areas. In some places, her sleeve had burnt away, leaving charred cloth and ashes over her wounds. It felt as if her blood in her arms had been replaced with boiling oil, and the muscles with burning coals, burning away underneath her skin. She tried to hold her burnt arm, only to instinctively jerk her unhurt hand away when it started to burn against her injured arm.

"Rin!" Sokka shouted as Rin collapsed back onto the ground, screaming her lungs out in pain. He quickly grabbed Rin's bag and, using the light from the torch, found a roll of bandages. He started to bandage her arm, only to jump back when the bandages turned black and burned away.

"Do _something_!" Rin shouted at Sokka between screams of pain.

"I'm trying!" Sokka replied, gingerly holding his hand over the scorched arm. "It's really hot right now, but I think it's cooling down."

"Good," Rin grunted, gritting her teeth. Sokka took Rin's water canteen from her bag and poured the water over her arm, cooling it down further. After a quick touch test for heat, which Rin winced at, Sokka started to bandage up her arm.

"What happened?" Sokka asked. "I didn't know firebenders could burn themselves."

"I don't know. I guess they can," Rin muttered, wincing as Sokka continued to bandage her arm. "Leave my hand unwrapped, will you?"

"Why?" Sokka asked. "It's as burned as the rest of your arm."

"Just do it," Rin replied. _I have a hunch._

"Okay..." Sokka said before finishing the bandages up to her wrist. "Now, before I splint your leg, I'm going to have to set it straight."

"Huh?" Rin asked, looking down at her legs. Her right leg was fine, but her left leg was resting at an odd, unnatural angle. "Oh yeah, do that."

"It's going to hurt a bit, just warning you."

"It can't be worse than this arm."

"Well, if that's what you think."

Rin grit her teeth as Sokka took hold of her leg. In one motion, he snapped it straight, sending an excruciating shock through her body. After a moment, the pain in her leg started to fade.

"Wasn't as bad as the arm," Rin said through her teeth.

"I guess the arm was pretty bad then," Sokka replied. "Do you have anything I could use to make a splint? Like a long stick or something? Katara used a polar-dog thigh bone when I got hurt."

"Well, besides rope, no," Rin said. "Look, maybe you can carry me until we find Katara. She'll heal that leg right up."

"I guess we could," Sokka muttered. He leaned down and wrapped Rin's uninjured arm around his shoulder, allowing Rin to lean against his body for support. Together, they began their slow walk through the cave.

* * *

><p>"Rin?"<p>

"Yeah?"

"You've traveled with firebenders before, right?"

"Yeah, on Zuko's ship. Why?"

"Is this kind of thing, well, common? People burning themselves through firebending, I mean?"

"I dunno."

"Oh. Okay."

Rin and Sokka had been walking slowly through the cave for who-knows-how-long, with only Sokka's poorly drawn map to guide them. Sokka supported Rin with his shoulder, allowing her to walk without having to step on her broken leg.

"How long until the torch goes out?" Rin asked.

"I'm not sure," Sokka answered, examining the burning end of the torch. "I'd say twenty minutes, tops. You didn't happen to steal two torches, did you?"

"No, why would I?" Rin asked, before pausing for a short moment. "I think we're going to die down here."

"Come on, don't say that," Sokka said. "We'll find the exit eventually."

"Sokka, we've been wandering through these caves for hours. This place is huge. Who knows, maybe there isn't even an exit."

"Don't say that. We'll find Aang and Katara and mosey on out of here. Who knows, maybe they're just around the next corner."

The two trudged on in silence, occasionally glancing at the torch and each other. The tunnel was silent, with the exception of the crackling of the torch fire and their footsteps.

"Hey, Rin?"

"What?"

"You said you used to be part of Zuko's crew? What was it like?"

"Well, it wasn't exciting, being the cabin girl. Sweep up the floors, move around some supplies, help the cook, whatever. Mostly just menial tasks. They probably could have replaced me by having the rest of the crew work a little harder, but I guess they needed an extra hand on the ship."

"What about Zuko? Wasn't he kind of a jerk, or something?"

"To be honest, yeah, he's a stuck up prick. However, the rest of the crew wasn't so bad. Even Zuko, once you got to know him. He may be a jerk, but he has his reasons."

"Can't see a reason why he'd want to capture Aang and doom the rest of the world."

"I said he has his reasons, not that his reasons are logical. But I doubt he'll give up anytime soon."

"Why's that?"

"Just something I learned about him."

"Hm." Sokka took a glance at the torch, which was starting to run out of fuel. "Rin, how's the arm?"

"It's bearable," Rin replied. "Oh, by the way, do you remember the first time I firebended and burned myself? At the Earth Kingdom base?"

"Yeah. It healed really quickly, too. Maybe you didn't burn yourself as -"

"I don't think that's it," Rin interrupted. "Remember when I asked you to leave my hand unbandaged? Take a look."

"Let me see..." Sokka muttered, holding the torch up as Rin raised her arm. The burnt, charred flesh and skin were gone, replaced by a new, untouched layer of skin that extended all the way down to her bandages. Rin grabbed the end of the bandage around her arm and pulled it away, revealing more delicate, pink skin underneath.

"It's - what did you do?" Sokka asked, confused, as Rin stripped away the rest of the bandages. "You couldn't have -"

"That's not all," Rin said, suddenly letting go of Sokka and standing on both legs. She stomped her left leg on the ground a few times, showing that it was also completely healed.

"How - what?" Sokka asked, completely flabbergasted.

"Look, you know as much as I do," Rin explained. "I just had a hunch when the first burn healed, and I guess this confirms it."

"That's... well, great, I guess," Sokka said. "But we still have to find a way out of here. This torch is getting dimmer by the minute."

"Let's go," Rin replied as they started walking again.

* * *

><p>Rin and Sokka trudged through the cavern, each step looking the same as the last. There was no indication of an exit anywhere: no wind, no voices, no light at the end of the tunnel. Even worse, their torch was on its last bit of fuel, and would soon leave the two in darkness.<p>

"Hey, Sokka?" Rin's voice broke the silence between them, smaller than earlier.

"Yeah?"

"Can we hold hands? You know, in case the torch goes out?"

"I guess so, yeah."

The two grasped each other's hands, watching as the torch started to fade away. Rin looked away for a moment, her cheeks starting to feel slightly warm.

"Something wrong?" Sokka asked. "You're kinda blushing a bit."

"Oh, uh... it's just, I've never held a boy's hand like this before," Rin admitted.

"Well, I guess there's a first to everything," Sokka said. "Besides, its not like we're going out or anything. We're doing this so we won't be separated."

"I guess so," Rin muttered, but the warmth wouldn't leave her cheeks. She noticed the light of the torch starting to flicker out, and sighed. "So, this might be the last time we see each other."

"Maybe... but hopefully not," Sokka replied. The two watched as the torch flickered one last time, finally giving out and extinguishing itself. Rin expected total darkness, but was instead greeted with a dim, green glow lighting up the entire cavern.

"Wait a minute," Sokka said as Rin looked up. The ceiling of the cavern was lined with glowing crystals, extending far down the tunnel and to a fork in the cave, where it led down one way, leaving the other side in total darkness.

"What the fuck!" Rin screamed. "So if we had just put out the torch, we could have found the way out hours ago?! That's some ostrich-horse shit!"

"Well, look on the bright side, the crystals probably lead to the exit!" Sokka replied. "Heh, bright side. I crack myself up sometimes."

"Grr... let's go." Rin trudged down the tunnel lined with glowing crystals.

"You know, if you hadn't stolen the torch in the first place, we might have been able to find one of those paths earlier," Sokka pointed out.

"Shut up and keep moving." Eventually, the two followed the crystals to the exit, where Aang, Katara, and Appa were waiting.

"You made it!" Katara exclaimed as the group came together and embraced each other.

"How'd you two get out?" Sokka asked.

"It's just like the legend says," Aang replied. "You let love lead the way." Aang glanced longingly at Katara, and Rin was curious of the look he gave her.

"Really?" Rin asked. "We wandered aimlessly until we found out that someone put glow-in-the-dark crystals in the ceiling."

"Yeah, well, I guess we kinda did that too," Katara admitted. "But what about the nomads? Were they with you?"

"No. They weren't with you?" Sokka asked back.

"They're probably still -" Rin said before the cliff face behind her shattered. A badger-mole emerged from the cloud of dust, and on its back were the nomads, Chong in front.

"Hey there, little people!" Chong called from atop the badger-mole before clambering down. "Glad to see y'all made it out safe."

"Glad to see you too," Sokka groaned. "Really thought you guys would be in there for longer."

"Well, these music-loving badger-moles helped us out!" Chong explained, not catching Sokka's sarcasm.

"That's great!" Katara said. "Are you coming with us to Omashu?"

"Nope!" Chong replied. "We're going elsewhere. You know, the stories say that there's a lake far from here that's always frozen over, even in the summer! We're going there next!"

"Well, have fun!" Aang said, waving goodbye as the nomads left. "Now, let's get to Omashu so I can learn some earthbending!"

* * *

><p>"... and so we found out that Rin is a bit strange. Well, not her, but her body," Sokka said. The four were climbing up the last peak separating them from Omashu, where Aang would start his earthbending training.<p>

"Strange? How's that?" Aang asked.

"I'll show you when we get into the city," Rin replied.

"Anyways, the journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about: the destination," Sokka said as they approached the top of the peak. "I present to you the Earth Kingdom city of - oh, no."

"What is it?" Aang asked as he, Katara, and Rin scrambled up to see what was wrong. As Rin stepped up next to Sokka, she gasped. Omashu, the city which she and many others thought to be impenetrable with its surrounding walls and canyon, had Fire Nation flags flying from its walls. Metal bridges, guarded by tanks, extended from the mountain ranges to the walls of the city, and pillars of smoke rose from burning buildings. Now Rin know why there were Fire Nation troops stationed outside of the mountain range: they had already captured the city within it.

_Things never go as planned for us, do they?_

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Please leave a review, and if you like the story, don't hesitate to follow andor favorite. I know that some of you are probably a bit frustrated at my slow pace, and again, I'm sorry about that. I'll try to work on this story more often, but with schoolwork and daily life, I can give no guarantees. If you catch any typos, or lore errors, don't hesitate to tell me.**


	12. The City of Omashu

**Hey, guys! So it's been over a year, huh? Sorry about that. A lot of stuff kept me away from this, including writers block, schoolwork, discovering reddit, and a bunch of other stuff. But here I am!**

**So without further delay, let's get started.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: The City of Omashu<strong>

The group stood speechless as they gazed at the city of Omashu, which was now decorated with Fire Nation colors and flags. Iron chimneys rose from newly-built factories, belching pillars of black smoke into the air. Metal bridges, each occupied with dozens of guards and tanks, stretched from the walls of the city across the massive gorge surrounding it, ending at the mountains.

"I can't believe it," Aang said, turning towards his companions. "I know the war has spread far, but Omashu always seemed so... untouchable."

"Up until now it was," Sokka replied. "Now Ba Sing Se is the only great Earth Kingdom stronghold left."

"This is horrible, but we have to move on," Katara said, moving up next to Aang.

"I'm with Katara on this one," Rin added. "They've already got all of those bridges and factories set up. It's practically Fire Nation by now."

"We're not abandoning this city," Aang declared. "I need to find Bumi."

"Aang, stop," Sokka objected. "We don't even know if King Bumi is still-"

"What?" Aang interrupted, turning to meet Sokka eye-to-eye. "If he's still what?"

"... if he's still around," Sokka finished.

"Look, Aang, I know you have your heart set on finding Bumi, but there are plenty of other earthbenders in the kingdom," Katara reminded Aang. "We can always find you another earthbending teacher."

"This isn't about finding a teacher," Aang replied. "This is about finding my friend."

_I like him, _the voice inside Rin's head suddenly said.

_He's going to get us captured or killed, I guarantee it, _Rin replied. _And why are you here all of a sudden?_

_Well, I don't have anyone else to talk to, _the voice said.

_Do what you did the last 3 years you were in my body. You never talked to me before, _Rin said.

"Come on, Rin!" Aang called from behind her, snapping her out of her mental conversation. Sighing, Rin followed her companions onto Appa, and they flew off towards the city.

* * *

><p>Avoiding the detection of Fire Nation watchtowers, the group managed to fly down into the gorge below the city. They landed on a ledge in the rocky cliff surrounding the city, where large metal pipe was jutting out of the rock, closed off by a solid disk of steel. Aang was standing on top of the pipe, trying to dislodge the cover of the pipe with his staff.<p>

"Wait, there was a secret passage into the city? Why didn't we use this last time?" Sokka asked. Before anyone could respond, Aang managed to open the pipe, answering Sokka's question with a flood of raw sewage to his face.

"Now you know," Aang said. Rin stifled a slight chuckle as Aang jumped down into the pipe, encasing himself in a bubble of air to avoid having to wade through the sewage. Katara followed, bending the sewage around her, with Rin staying close to her back so that both of them would stay dry. Rin looked back at Sokka, who was fighting his way through waves of brown, slimy water.

"Come on, Sokka," Rin said. "Stop lagging behind."

"I wouldn't be *_blech*_ lagging behind if *_hach_* you would all just slow down and *_gag* _stop bending this sludge into my face!" Sokka replied, stopping to spit out a mouthful of sewage. As they continued onward, the pipe expanded into a large maze of tunnels, walkways, and rivers of sewage, which Rin presumed connected every house and building of Omashu. Green crystals lined the wall of the tunnel, bathing the sewer system in a dim glow.

"Okay, I think we're under the city now," Katara guessed. "Now we need to find a way to reach the surface and-"

"Hold on," Rin interrupted. "There's a place I want to go to first."

"Yeah, but we need to get above ground - oh, you mean down here?" Aang asked. "In the sewers"

"Come on, let me show you," Rin said, climbing up to a walkway on the side of the tunnel and leading the rest of the group through the tunnels.

"Ugh, this entire place stinks," Sokka complained, holding his nose as they walked.

"It's a sewer, Sokka. What did you expect?" Katara asked. "Though I'd like to get to the surface as soon as possible. I'm not sure if I can stand this smell for much longer."

"Eh, you get used to it. I did, after a few weeks," Rin said, turning into a small alcove off to the side of the tunnel, where she stopped and turned around to the group. "Welcome to my old home. Make yourself comfortable."

"You lived here?" Aang asked, looking around. The alcove was barely large enough to house a single person, with only enough space for a bedroll and some personal belongings. The floor, like the rest of the sewer system, was made of smooth, hard rock, and the only defining features of the place were a few small, wooden crates stacked up on the side of the alcove, some of which were starting to rot and crumble. Sokka peered into one of the crates and found half a dozen bottles scattered around the bottom, most of them empty.

"Yeah, I stopped by Omashu maybe... two years ago?" Rin explained, looking through the crates. "I stayed in the city for a few months before I moved on. Stole food, money, and drinks to keep myself busy. The sewers made a pretty good hiding spot, so I holed up in here. Oh, and speaking of drinks, I think this one's still good." Rin pulled a bottle from the crate, popped the cork, and started gulping down its contents, not bothering to check what those contents were.

"Whoa, don't drink that!" Katara shouted, grabbing the bottle out of Rin's hand. "Didn't you say you came here two years ago? Whatever you were drinking, it's got to have gone bad by now."

"Relax, Katara," Rin protested. "Alcohol doesn't go bad."

"Alcohol?" Katara cried. "Now I'm definitely not giving this back. You were drinking this stuff two years ago?"

"I can handle a drink or two," Rin said, trying to snatch the bottle away from Katara.

"Okay, Ms. 'wanted for public intoxication,'" Katara replied.

"Point taken," Rin admitted. "But that was my first time drinking. I don't even remember that night."

_I remember it, _the voice inside Rin's head said. _That was a fun night! We got to do a lot of things... like romance!_

_Wait, what? _Rin exclaimed in her mind. _I didn't remember any boys that night... or the morning after, either._

_Well, you met and broke up within the hour, _the voice explained. _It was fun, though! Definitely an experience! To be honest, I like drunk you a lot better than bitter, no-fun normal you._

_Well, bitter no-fun me is what you're going to have to put up with. _Rin told the voice. _Also, if you're going to pop into my head this often, I'll need a name to call you by. What is it?_

_... sorry_, the voice apologized as Rin mentally groaned. _I can't -_

_Playing secrets again, huh? _Rin paused for a moment. _You know what? You've been living in my head for years, and I think you're overdue on rent. I think I deserve to know your name, out of all things._

_Fine... _the voice said. _My name is Edea._

_See, now everyone's happy. Nice to meet you, Edea. Now stay out of my head when I'm trying to talk to someone._

"Hey, Rin? You okay?" Sokka asked, snapping Rin out of her mental conversation with Edea.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Rin muttered back.

"Are you sure?" Katara asked. "Anything on your mind you need to discuss? You were kinda blanking out there."

"I'm fine," Rin insisted. "Now let's get out of this dump."

"I agree," Aang said. "We need to get up there and find Bumi."

As the group left the small alcove in the sewers, Rin paused. She looked back at the place that she, for at least a few weeks, had lived in. While it may have been dirty and cramped, she was still her home for a small period of time.

Then she turned, running to catch up with the rest of the group.

* * *

><p><em>Fwooosh. Clang!<em>

"Dammit Aang, you've got to be more careful," Rin hissed just after Aang blew off the cover to a manhole, causing it to fly into the air and crash back down to the earth. "Someone could have heard that."

"Don't worry, it's nighttime," Aang replied, peeking out of the hole before jumping up to the surface. "There's no one around here, anyways."

"Well, then I guess we're lucky. What if someone was up here? They would have heard us right away," Rin pointed out as she pulled herself up to the surface. She looked up and found herself in a side alley of the city, surrounded by large, plain stone buildings. Pillars rose out of the ground nearby, extending upwards to support the elaborate system of ramps used to relay mail, supplies, and whatever else happened to find it's way onto it, all backgrounded by the bright, starry night.

"Well, the sewers weren't as bad as I thought," Katara admitted as she climbed out of the sewers. However, right after her came the slime-drenched, sewage-covered form that Rin could barely make out as Sokka.

"Don't tell me you fell into the sewage again," Rin groaned as Katara doused Sokka with water from a nearby barrel, followed by a quick blow-dry from Aang.

"Hey, it's not my fault that-" Sokka started to say before noticing two small, purple creatures stuck to his cheeks. "Deaaagh! Get them off! They won't let go!"

As Sokka tried desperately to pull the two small creatures off of his cheeks, Aang tackled him into the alley wall before signalling him to be quiet. "Calm down. They're just purple pentapi. They wouldn't hurt a fly."

"I've found a few during my time in the sewers. They come off if you just give them a little rub," Rin explained as she and Aang detached the purple pentapi from Sokka's body, leaving lines of red sucker-marks around his face and neck. "They don't taste too good, though."

"Hey!" Rin heard someone say from behind her, and the group turned to where the voice was coming from. Approaching them from the other end of the alleyway was a group of Fire Nation soldiers. "What are you kids doing out past curfew?"

"Sorry... uh... we were just on our way home," Katara told the soldiers as the group turned and walked away, trying to avoid suspicion.

"Wait!" One of the soldiers ordered, and Rin reached back into her bag, ready to pull out her hatchet and start fighting. "What's wrong with that boy?"

"Oh, him?" Katara asked as Rin realized that the soldier was referring to the marks the pentapi left on Sokka. "He's, uh, sick. With pentapox."

"Pentapox, huh?" the soldier muttered, walking up to Sokka to investigate.

"Um... it's highly contagious," Katara warned as the soldier came closer.

"And it's painful too," Rin added, tapping Sokka's back. "_Really _painful."

"Ugh... it hurts, it's like I'm going to die!" Sokka moaned, stumbling towards the soldier, who backed off from the group.

"And it's deadly," Katara added. "That too."

"Hey, I think I've heard of pentapox," the soldier said, turning to one of his friends. "Didn't your cousin Chang die of it?"

"I think you're right," the other soldier replied as the group of soldiers backed away from a coughing, stumbling Sokka. "We better go wash our hands. And burn our clothes, too!"

As the soldiers ran out of the alleyway and out of sight, Aang smiled, picking up one of the pentapi that they had taken off of Sokka. "Thanks, sewer friend!"

"You've got a lot more to thank than that thing," Rin said to Aang. "It's a miracle we haven't been caught yet. Now we need to go find your friend."

* * *

><p>The group made their way deeper into the city, quietly sneaking through alleyways and hiding from the sight of Fire Nation patrols. The streets were starting to become steeper, and the small houses and shops gradually gave way to construction projects and scaffolding. As a small patrol of soldiers passed by, the group hid behind a stack of metal beams, out of sight.<p>

"Let's find Bumi and get out of here," Katara said. "This city is crawling with guards."

"Where would they be keeping him?" Sokka asked.

"Somewhere he can't earthbend," Aang replied, surveying the area from their hiding spot. "Somewhere made of metal."

"Looks like the Fire Nation made a lot of metal buildings when they took over," Rin pointed out, looking at the large, metal factories scattered around the city. "They might've stashed your friend in one of those."

"That's a lot of places to search," Sokka said.

"Then we should searching now," Aang replied. He walked out from their hiding spot towards a factory in the distance, but Rin pulled him back to safety.

"You have to be more careful," Rin hissed, pointing towards a road below their hiding spot, where a group of Fire Nation soldiers were escorting what looked like a noblewoman and her teenage daughter. The sight of their expensive silk robes and sparkling jewelry forced a grimace onto Rin's face, one she wiped away immediately. "You could've been spotted."

"Sorry," Aang whispered back. "I-"

"Hey, what's that?" Sokka interrupted, pointing up to a ledge above their hiding spot. Squinting her eyes slightly, Rin could make out the shape of a large figure, as well as a boulder perched precariously over the edge of the road. Suddenly, the boulder launched down from the road, careening straight towards the Fire Nation soldiers below.

"Watch out!" Aang shouted, breaking the boulder apart with a blast of wind and revealing their position to the Fire Nation soldiers below. As the Fire Nation soldiers started climbing up to the group, Rin groaned, reaching back to grab her hatchet.

"The resistance!" The noblewoman cried out, pointing up at Aang. Rin glanced down at the road below, but strangely, couldn't see the teenager that had been there before.

"No, we're not-" Aang tried to tell the woman, but was interrupted when Rin grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him away as the Fire Nation soldiers started climbing up to where they were.

"Why'd you do that?!" Rin asked Aang as they ran from the soldiers. "Now the Fire Nation knows we're here!"

"I couldn't just let them get hurt," Aang replied before speeding ahead of Rin. Looking back over her shoulder, Rin saw Katara pushing a pair of soldiers back with a stream of water. After a moment of consideration, Rin ran over, grabbing a brick sitting on the scaffolding next to her and, after ducking under a burst of flame, threw the brick at a charging soldier. Her aim struck true as the brick crashed directly into the soldier's face, knocking him to the ground.

"Come on," Rin said to Katara, leading her away before the soldiers could recover. As they ran, Rin looked down towards the city, scanning for a way out of this situation; perhaps an alleyway, a manhole into the sewers, an open building, anything.

_Rin, watch out behind you! _Edea warned.

_I know the soldiers are behind me, that's why I'm running, _Rin replied.

_No, not the soldiers, I'm talking about -_

_**Shink.**_

Edea's sentence was cut of by a burst of pain from Rin's shoulder, which was immediately suppressed by a rush of adrenaline. Looking back, she saw the teenage girl who had been accompanying the noblewoman, along with a small knife stuck through her shoulder. Rin ducked to the side of the road as the girl threw a flurry of knives and darts at her.

"Augh!" Rin shouted, clutching her shoulder as the pain rapidly overcame her adrenaline rush. She noticed the knife-throwing woman catching up to the group and shouted over to Aang, who had ran ahead of them. "Hey, we need some help here!"

"I'm on it!" Aang shouted back, waiting for them to catch up. After the rest of the group passed by, he blasted a section of scaffolding with air, sending it toppling to the ground and blocking off the path. Suddenly, Rin felt the ground vanish, and she, along with the rest of the group, fell into a hole in the ground, which was immediately covered up by earthbending. As the dust from their fall cleared, Rin looked around and saw dozens of people surrounding them, dressed in either civilian clothing or soldier uniforms.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked as one of the soldiers approached.

"I think that's what we should ask you," the soldier replied.

* * *

><p>"... and so we retreated underground to hide from the Fire Nation," the soldier explained. After a minute of questioning, the soldiers revealed that they were the remains of Omashu's army, along with it's citizens, who had grouped together to form a resistance force against the Fire Nation. The head soldier that they were talking to had introduced himself as General Yung, and was explaining what had happened since Aang, Katara, and Sokka had left Omashu, before they picked up Rin from the Great Divide.<p>

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but is there anywhere we can rest for the night down here?" Sokka asked. "I'm a little tired out from being chased."

"Sure. Chang, show them to one of the empty rooms," Yung ordered another soldier, who nodded. He led the group down the hall and into an empty side room.

"Well, better get this out," Rin muttered, gritting her teeth as she pulled the knife from her shoulder. As it left the wound, blood started trickling down her back.

"That doesn't look good," Katara said, drawing water from her waterskin. "Let me heal that for you."

"Not yet," Rin replied. "I need to show you something. Sokka, you know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I remember," Sokka said. "But I think you should let Katara clean your wound, just so it won't get infected."

"That's true. Katara, can you do that?" Rin asked as Katara nodded. "But don't heal me yet. Just clean it."

"Okay..." Katara said skeptically, moving behind Rin and washing out the stab wound, including the blood that had dripped down into Rin's clothes. "But do you mind explaining why I shouldn't heal this? It won't take long, and it's not too difficult."

"Remember the tunnels we went through today?" Sokka asked. "When we all got separated after Appa got scared and slammed into a bunch of walls?"

"Yeah, I remember," Aang replied. It was only for a moment, but Rin swore that she saw blood rush to his and Katara's cheeks, blushing them red. "You and Rin ended up in the same tunnel, right?"

"That we did," Rin confirmed. "But a boulder landed on my legs during the collapse. Broke both of them."

"Wait, but..." Katara said, glancing down at Rin's legs. "That was just this afternoon, and I never healed them. How are you walking?"

"That's what I was wondering back in the tunnels," Sokka said. "I was carrying her around for half an hour, maybe an hour, and she's suddenly walking around, good as new, as if she didn't need my help at all. Even her arm was healed."

"Her arm?" Aang asked. "What happened to her arm?"

"Oh, right, my arm," Rin said. "I burned myself while trying to light a torch. Blisters and burns all the way up to my shoulder. Probably the worst pain I've ever felt, but it healed up completely, just like my leg. Speaking of burns, I think I've at least started to figure out how to firebend."

"Huh, I see what you mean by healing," Katara muttered from behind her. "The wound's already starting to close. It shouldn't take more than half an hour for it to heal completely, at this rate."

"Now, I know you all probably have questions, but trust me, I have no idea why this is happening," Rin explained.

_But I'm sure you do, don't you, Edea?_ Rin thought, but her head remained silent and empty as she waited for an answer.

"I wonder if Bumi's with all these refugees," Aang wondered out loud. "I'm going to go look for him."

"I'll go too," Sokka said. The two boys left the room, leaving Rin and Katara alone. The two looked at each other, then glanced awkwardly around the room. Rin dug into her bag and pulled out her canteen, took a few gulps of water, and put it back before laying down on the ground, instantly regretting it when the cold rock stung up against her wound. She rolled over onto her side. Meanwhile, Katara was batting at her hair loopies with her finger, looking as bored as Rin was.

"So, what happened to you and Aang in the tunnels?" Rin asked, breaking the silence.

"Uh, nothing much," Katara replied, looking towards the doorway.

"I thought you 'let love lead the way'," Rin reminded Katara. "Something must have happened down there."

"Well, I guess you could say something happened," Katara said, her cheeks turning a rosy shade of red.

_Was it looooooove? _Edea suddenly asked in Rin's head.

_Dammit, don't just pop up in my head like that, _Rin thought. _And what the hell are you talking about?_

_Can you ask her what I just said? _Edea requested. _Oh, this sounds like a romance story!_

_No, I won't, _Rin thought. _And definitely not in that sing-song teasing tone of yours._

_Aw, please? _Edea pleaded. _It'll be fun!_

_Fun? We're in the middle of a military resistance base, there's no time for - ah, fuck it. You'll just keep pestering me until I do it, _Rin mentally sighed before focusing her attention on Katara. "So, what really happened with you and Aang down in the tunnels? Because it wasn't 'nothing much'."

"Well, here's what happened after we got separated..."

* * *

><p>"Wait, so you're telling me you found the tomb of Oma and Shu."<p>

"Yes. They told us to trust in love... and that's how we found our way out."

"No, back up. You found the tomb of Oma and Shu. Two legendary and celebrated legends in the Earth Kingdom."

"Yes... Rin, where are you going with this?"

"Katara, there was probably treasure in there! Gold! Jewels! You don't bury legends without burying some sort of tribute with them! I'm just saying, we could have solved any money problem that we may have."

"I mention the tomb of Oma and Shu and the first thing you think of is looting it? It's a good thing you and Sokka ended up in the other tunnel. Besides, we have enough supplies from General Fong's outpost."

"Come on, it's not like they're going to complain. They're dead."

"Ugh, you're like Sokka, but... worse, somehow."

"And yet you still keep me around."

"Well, it was Aang's idea, not mine. Besides, it's not that we don't like having you around, it's just that your morals are kind of..."

"Off? Askew?"

"Nonexistent, actually. At least you haven't really done anything wrong while you've been traveling with us."

"That's probably because I like traveling with you guys. Our companionship is the most valuable thing I have."

"Aw, that's kinda sweet. I didn't expect that out of you, that's for sure."

"I actually meant that literally. Any sort of friendly relationship with the Avatar and his friends is going to be valuable. He's the most powerful person in the world. I'd be stupid to try and piss him off."

"Okay, that's not so sweet anymore."

"Of course, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy being with everyone. Beats being alone."

_You weren't alone! I was there too!_

_Edea, shut up. You made me think I was alone for years, and I didn't want you here in the first place._

"We have a plan!" Rin heard Aang shout as he came into the room with Sokka.

"Plan for what?" Rin asked. "Fighting the Fire Nation?"

"Not exactly," Aang said. "We're running from it."

"Come on, we're not running," Sokka corrected him. "The citizens of Omashu are doing a _tactical retreat._"

"Also known as running," Rin said. "I'm fine with it. When do we leave?"

"More importantly, how do we leave?" Katara added. "Every exit to the city is heavily guarded by Fire Nation troops, and we can't just ferry everyone from the sewers with Appa. We'll get spotted."

"Easy," Sokka said with a smirk. "We're all about to have a serious case of pentapox."

* * *

><p>"So, Sokka. How is this going to work again?" Rin asked, looking over the citizens as they pulled pentapi off each other, leaving bright red welts on their skin.<p>

"Well, we make everyone look like they're sick, then we'll have them go onto the streets," Sokka explained. "Hopefully, if they think everyone's, they'll let us right out!"

"Well, I guess the Fire Nation wouldn't want a plague on their hands," Rin muttered. "How convincing will it be, though? We won't know if they'll fall for it."

"Don't worry, I got that all covered," Sokka replied, grinning deviously. "Remember the guard we saw earlier? He said that I looked like I had something called 'pentapox', then he ran off. If I'm right, by the time we put everything into motion, everyone will already think that there's people with pentapox in Omashu, making out escape all the more convincing!"

"Wow, looks like you've thought of everything," Rin commented. "So, when's the escape?

"Right now!" Sokka said before heading over to the crowd of sick-looking citizens. "All right, sick formation! Let's go! We're leaving this city!"

"We should head back to the sewers and leave on Appa," Rin heard Katara say as she and Aang approached her. "Sokka's going to be leading the sick march. We'll meet up outside the city."

"I'm not leaving until I find Bumi," Aang proclaimed.

"The old king?" Rin asked. "Oh yeah, he's your friend, right?"

"Yes, and that's why I can't leave him here," Aang said, opening his glider. "I'll meet back with you guys once I find him."

"Stay safe," Katara called as Aang flew away, towards the center of the city.

"Well, there he goes," Rin muttered. "Let's head down to the sewers now. We need to get out while the guards have their attention focused on the citizens."

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

><p>"We'll land behind those hills over there," Rin said, pointing out a clearing down below. "That's where the resistance told us to meet up."<p>

"Got it," Katara replied, steering Appa down towards the ground. They touched down and looked back, but Sokka, along with the sick-looking citizens, had still not arrived yet.

"I guess we'll wait here," Rin said. "I'll go scout out the area. See if they're coming yet."

"Good idea," Katara replied. "I'll set up camp. It's getting dark."

Rin hopped off Appa, bending her knees as she hit the ground. She walked over to the hills that separated their landing site from the view of the city and made her way up, hoping to get a better view.

_Hey, do you think Aang will find Bumi?_ Edea asked.

_Why do you care? _Rin asked back. _I haven't met him, and that means neither have you._

_Well, he seems like a very nice man, if he's Aang's friend, _Edea told her.

_Yeah, yeah, we don't know though, _Rin replied, coming up to the top of the hill and overlooking Omashu. She looked around, trying to spot either Aang or the evacuating citizens.

_Over there, to your right,_ Edea said. Rin turned and saw a small band of citizens coming around the edge of a nearby hill, heading towards where they were all told to gather.

_Wait, you can see outside of what I'm seeing? _Rin asked. _I thought you looked through my eyes._

_Nope!_ Edea said. _In fact, Katara just finished unloading our stuff and setting up the tent._

_At least that means I'm not going insane and hearing voices, _Rin thought-muttered, looking back down the hill at Katara, who had indeed finished setting up the tent and was now trying to start a small campfire. It was getting dark, and the torches of the evacuated citizens made their way into the clearing. Rin could see Sokka running up and helping Katara with the fire. _You could be useful after all._

_Hey, I'm useful! _Edea pouted. _Remember what I showed you in the cave? With the torch?_

_Yeah, yeah, and then you didn't bother to explain WHAT I did, _Rin replied. _And it looks like you don't want to, either._

_Hey, I made a promise,_ Edea said. _And I won't go around breaking my promises._

_Who did you promise - _Rin started, then she paused. _Forget it, you probably won't tell me anyways. Well, I should make you useful while you're here. Can you see Aang?_

_Yup! He's at the south end of the city, climbing over the wall on Flopsie, _Edea told her. Rin turned and saw a large, white goat-gorilla climbing down the southern wall of Omashu, with Aang on its back. The guards were still preoccupied with the sickly-looking citizens, and were oblivious as Aang and his steed made their way beyond the bridges leading to the city and into the hills beyond, towards where everyone was waiting.

"Aang's back!" Katara shouted as Aang and Flopsie entered the clearing. Rin jogged down the hill to meet up with him as he jumped from Flopsie's back and onto the ground.

"I looked everywhere," Aang explained with a hung face. "No Bumi."

"Hey, it's a big city," Rin replied. "He could have been anywhere. For all we know, they sent him to the Fire Nation or something, and that's why you couldn't find him."

"But that's even worse!" Sokka pointed out.

"No, I have a feeling that he's there," Aang said. "I just know it."

"Well, you can go and search tomorrow," Rin said. "It's getting too dark. Do we have anything to eat?"

"Ahem."

Rin heard General Yung clearing his throat behind her, and the four of them turned to face him. "So, we did a headcount, and, uh..."

"What is it?" Katara asked. "Is someone missing?"

"No, quite the opposite," Yung replied. "We have an extra."

He pointed behind him, to where Momo was being dragged around and roughed up by a toddler boy. Unlike the other citizens that evacuated, this boy was clearly of Fire Nation descent, and was wearing red clothes as if to prove he was.

"We'll take care of him tonight, I guess," Rin said. "Unless we can find out who he belongs to, we'll just plop him somewhere back in the city tomorrow and hope a guard picks him up or something."

"With the exception of the 'we'll just plop him in some random place in the city' part, that doesn't sound like too bad of a plan," Katara said. "For now, let's prepare something to eat. I'm sure everyone's hungry."

* * *

><p>"... and while we may be gone tonight,<p>

we'll be back to win the fight!"

_**clapclapclapclapclapclapclap**_

Rin listened as the evacuated citizens sat in a circle around the fire, singing songs to raise their spirits. One man had even brought a sitar to strum along to the beat. While having to evacuate their supposedly impenetrable city was a harsh blow to the morale of the citizens, sharing the night around the campfire was somewhat lessening that blow. There was a pot of stew simmering over the stove in which many people had thrown a myriad of ingredients, and as a result, the stew had picked up a variety of many different flavors. Katara had taken to stirring the pot, ladeling out small scoops of stew to those who held out a bowl or cup. Meanwhile, Rin had been charged with making sure the Fire Nation toddler was okay.

"Come on, eat, you little bastard," Rin grumbled, lightly prodding the toddler's lips with a spoonful of stew, but he wouldn't budge. Instead, he turned his head away and pouted, turning his head once again when Rin moved the spoon back to his mouth. "Come on, you haven't even tasted it yet, you don't even know if it's bad or not."

"Here, let me try," Katara offered, taking the spoon from Rin. With her other hand, she lightly tickled the toddler under the chin, making him let out a small giggle. After a few moments of tickling and giggling, Katara pushed the spoon into the toddler's mouth, letting him taste the stew. He froze for a moment, then laughed, reaching for the spoon as Katara dipped it into the bowl of stew, giving him another spoonful.

"Huh, you're good with kids," Rin commented. "Better than me, at least."

"I kind of had to be," Katara explained. "I had to care for a lot of the younger kids back at the South Pole, since all of the fathers were off to war, and many of the mothers... well, the kids didn't have anyone to care for them."

"I see," Rin muttered, taking a bowl of stew herself. She lifted a spoonful, blowing off the steam before putting it in her mouth. She immediately spit it back into the bowl before fanning her tongue.

"What, is there something wrong with the stew?" Katara asked.

"Nah, ith justh too hoth," Rin replied, still fanning her exposed tongue.

"Well, it did just come from over a fire. You should have expected that," Katara said, chuckling. "Want me to cool down your stew?"

"You don't have to, I can just wait," Rin said. "So, how's the kid doing?"

"Well, he actually liked the stew a lot, so I didn't have any problems feeding him," Katara said, taking a spoonful of stew from her own bowl. "He's playing with Momo right now. I think he's good on stew."

"Yeah, 'playing'," Rin muttered, looking back at the toddler, who was sitting on Momo's back as the lemur protested furiously. Turning back to the fire, Rin took another spoonful of her stew, which had now cooled to the point where she could put it in her mouth without burning her tongue. As she swallowed, she could taste a few of the ingredients, including potatoes, carrots, beets, and a hint of pig-chicken.

_Hey, isn't Aang vegetarian? _Edea asked. _What's he eating?_

_How should I know? He eats his own stuff, I guess, _Rin replied.

_Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask,_ Edea said.

_Fine,_ Rin thought-muttered before turning to Katara. "Hey, there's meat in this, right? What's Aang eating?"

"We had some food from earlier that we hadn't eaten yet," Katara explained. "Some bread buns and fruit. I think he's eating that."

"I see," Rin said. _I told you so._

_Well, it didn't hurt to ask,_ Edea said.

_Yeah, well it didn't hurt not to ask either,_ Rin replied, finishing her bowl and taking another ladle-full of stew from the pot.

_Ooh, more stew! _Edea exclaimed. _It tastes so good!_

_Wait, you can taste it? _Rin asked.

_Of course! I'm part of you, remember? _Edea reminded Rin.

_So you don't see what I see, and I'm assuming you don't feel what I feel, since you didn't react when I burned my tongue, _Rin said. _But you taste what I taste? What about smell? What's the deal here?_

_I don't know, I'm a spirit, I think. I don't make the rules, _Edea clarified. _And actually, I feel what you feel, but pain is kind of... muted. Like, I know it's there, but it doesn't feel painful for me._

_Well, isn't that just convenient for you, _Rin thought-grumbled. _I guess you'll be useful though, if you can think clearly while I'm in pain._

_Hey, I'm more than just a tool! _Edea pouted, but Rin ignored her, turning her attention towards General Yung, who had just entered the campfire circle.

"Citizens of Omashu, may I have your attention," he said, prompting the lively crowd of people to go quiet. "Thank you. As one of the many who lived most, if not all of their lives in Omashu, I know how hard it is to leave. You may have left behind your homes, your possessions, your livelihood, and many other things. And I am sorry for that."

Yung cleared his throat, then continued. "But as the General of Omashu's forces, I guarantee you that we will be back. Not as oppressed citizens of the Fire Nation, but as a formidable force, strong as the earth itself! We will come and take back the city that is rightfully ours!"

A cheer spread through the crowd of citizens, bringing the joyous mood back to the circle. Rin grinned slightly as everyone laughed and talked about what they had back in Omashu that they would take back from the Fire Nation.

"A messenger hawk!" someone called, and Rin looked up. A red hawk bearing the Fire Nation insignia flew down from the sky, dropping a scroll of parchment in General Yung's hand before flying back to Omashu. Everyone went quiet as the general opened the scroll, revealing its contents. He scanned his eyes over the parchment, reading it over before handing it to Aang, who did the same.

"We of the new Fire Nation government of Omashu... believe you have kidnapped... willing to make a trade of hostages...," Aang read, before his eyes went wide. "They think we've kidnapped the governor's son. And if we bring him back, they'll give us King Bumi!"

* * *

><p>The next day found the four of them back in Omashu to make the trade between the governor's young son and King Bumi. They had been instructed by the message to meet at a particular set of scaffolding bordering the construction site of a Fire Nation factory, where they would make the exchange. Sokka found himself holding the toddler, trying to avoid having his cheeks pulled by the child.<p>

"You do realize that we probably just walked into a trap, right?" Sokka asked, grimacing as the toddler drooled over his chest.

"I know, but this might be our only chance to get Bumi back," Aang replied, wrapping a cloth over his head so that he wouldn't be recognized. "And I don't want to miss that chance."

"Besides, if this is a trap, we still have a hostage," Rin pointed out.

"Quiet, someone's coming," Katara warned them. Climbing onto the scaffolding were three girls, all about Sokka's age. The one in the middle...

_That's the girl we saw earlier, _Edea said. _The one who threw knives at you._

_Yeah, I remember the knife-girl,_ Rin replied. _What's she doing here? And the others..._

The girl on the right wore Fire Nation red, with a gold-trimmed collar and a fancy flame-styled hairpin, while the girl on the left wore a more revealing pink outfit and a ponytail. They all walked with a confident air, especially the one on the right. Rin reached back, ready to pull out her hatchet if need be.

"You have my brother?" the knife-girl asked as Rin raised her eyebrows slightly.

"He's right here," Sokka replied, raising the boy up for the knife-girl to see. She nodded as a steel coffin lowered by a chain from above, holding a cackling old man who Rin presumed was King Bumi.

"Hello, everybody!" the old man called as his coffin hit the scaffolding behind the girls.

"You know, Mai, I thought just occured to me," the girl on the right said, interrupting the trade. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not, Princess Azula," the knife-girl, apparently known as Mai, replied. Rin reached into her bag, grabbing her hatchet and watching the girls carefully.

_Wait, if that's Princess Azula... _Edea started.

_Then she's a firebender, and probably a really good one, _Rin finished, before turning to the rest of her group. "I think this is a trap. Stay on your guard."

"We're trading a toddler for a king," Princess Azula continued. "A very powerful earthbending king that once ruled over a great city. For a slobbering two-year-old. Now, Mai, what do you think about that?"

"I think..." Mai started, glancing at Azula. Rin could hear a slight bit of hesitation in her voice, but that quickly faded as she produced a large throwing knife in her hand. "I think that sounds ridiculous. Deal's off."

"Well, you heard them," Rin called to the others. Mai threw the knife in her hand at Katara, who batted it out of the air with a tendril of water. "Let's get out of here!"

"I still have to save Bumi!" Aang called back as the old king's steel coffin was lifted back up the chain. Aang took flight on his glider, flying upwards as the cloth around his head fell off, revealing his tattoos. Almost immediately, Azula took to the scaffolding beside her, climbing upwards almost as quickly as Aang was flying.

"Come on, let's go! Aang will be fine!" Katara said, blocking another knife as they retreated away from the other two girls. The one in pink leapt into a hole in the scaffolding, disappearing from sight as she went to the lower level. Sokka, still holding the Fire Nation toddler, took out the bison-shaped whistle and blew hard.

_Watch out! _Edea called as Rin blocked an incoming knife with the flat of her hatchet.

_Yeah, I can see the knives flying straight towards my face, _Rin replied. _Can you see Appa?_

_I don't - there he is! _Edea shouted in her mind.

_You'll have to be more specific, I'm a bit occupied -OW!_ Rin thought before something hit the back of her knees, destroying her stance and forcing her to kneel. Quickly pushing herself up, she saw the pink girl jumping out of a hole in the scaffolding behind her, ready to strike once again.

_You could have warned me about that, _Rin thought-muttered.

_Hey, I didn't see her either! _Edea protested. _Katara and the knife-girl are fighting right now, so you should be safe from any knives, at least._

_Thanks, I guess, _Rin thought before raising her hatchet, ready to meet the pink-wearing girl head-on. As if on cue, the girl dashed forwards, quickly closing the gap between the two. Rin quickly slashed down with her hatchet as the distance approached zero, but instead of feeling it cut through flesh, all she felt were two hands vaulting onto her shoulders.

_Behind you! _Edea called, but as Rin turned around, it was already too late. She felt the girl's fingers strike at four points, one at each limb, and suddenly, her entire body went limp to the floor, her hatchet clattering to the scaffolding..

"You should loosen up a bit," the girl said with a smile before running off to help the knife-girl fight Katara. Rin moaned, the feeling in her limbs slowly returning as she gradually pushed herself back on her feet.

_Thanks for the warning, _Rin thought-grumbled.

_Hey, it's not my fault! _Edea argued. _She was just too fast!_

_Yeah, whatever, _Rin thought, grabbing her hatchet and running off towards where Katara was fighting the two girls. She arrived just in time to see the pink-wearing girl do the same pressure-point trick against Katara.

"How does it feel to lose your bending?" the knife-girl said as Katara raised her arms, futilely trying to lift the water that had splashed onto the scaffolding after the pink girl hit her pressure points. Suddenly, a boomerang flew in from overhead, forcing the two girls to dodge.

"I seem to manage!" Sokka retorted, flying in on Appa and catching the boomerang on its return trip. Appa landed in front of Rin and Katara, separating them from the other two girls, who were quickly blasted away by a gust of Appa's tail. "Hurry, climb on!"

"So that's where you were this entire time," Rin said as she hopped into the saddle, with Katara following closely behind.

"We need to find Aang and get out of here," Katara said. "Did you see him?"

"He's fighting over by the box chutes" Sokka replied before taking the reigns in his hands. "Appa, yip yip!"

As Appa went skyborne, the three looked over the city, searching for Aang. It didn't take long for them to spot spouts of blue flame rising from the box chutes, where Aang was riding the king's metal coffin down the track with the princess close behind, launching blue flame after blue flame.

"Is that... blue fire?" Katara asked as they got closer to the battle.

"We'll think about it later," Rin replied, before cupping her hands around her mouth. "Aang, let's go!"

Aang turned, acknowledging Rin's call before blocking another spout of blue flame. He quickly threw a burst of air under the king's coffin, sending it flying through the air towards Appa.

"Are you kidding me!" Rin exclaimed, bracing for the giant metal coffin to hit Appa head-on. However, it sailed overhead instead, with Aang following it down into another chute. The princess followed suit, ignoring Appa and jumping down to pursue Aang.

"Did Aang just throw a giant metal coffin at us and expect us to catch it?" Sokka asked.

"I guess he didn't have time to think that through," Katara replied. "Come on, let's go follow him."

Sokka pulled at the reigns once again, directing Appa to follow the chute downwards. Soon, they reached Aang, who was standing at the bottom of the chute alone.

"What's going on? Where's Bumi?" Katara asked as they all got off to meet him.

"And what about that firebender?" Sokka added.

"Bumi said that he wanted to stay here. The time wasn't right for him to leave," Aang explained. "And I managed to lose that girl on the way down. Actually, Bumi did."

"Well, we should get out of here," Rin told them. "We're not safe in the city."

"Wait, so I carried this brat around for nothing?" Sokka asked, pulling the Fire Nation toddler out from Appa's saddle. "What are we gonna do with him?"

"I'll bring him back where he belongs," Aang said. "He may be Fire Nation, but that doesn't mean he should be separated from his family."

"I'd argue that having a hostage would be useful, but he's more trouble than he's worth," Rin added. "We'll head on back to camp."

"I'll be sure to meet you there," Aang told them before taking the toddler and flying off towards the center of the city. Meanwhile, Rin, Sokka, and Katara climbed back onto Appa, flying back to their camp in the hills outside Omashu.

_So, where are we headed next?_ Edea asked as they touched down and started cleaning up camp.

_I... actually, I'm not sure,_ Rin replied before turning to Sokka. "Hey, where are we going next?"

"We need to find an earthbending teacher for Aang, so we'll be hopping from town to town," Sokka explained. "We'll probably be heading up north for now."

"Oh, okay," Rin said. _That doesn't sound so bad._

_It sounds great! _Edea replied. _Now, onward to our next adventure!_

_Sigh... well I guess you're one more thing I've got to put up with, _Rin thought-muttered. However, she smiled, just a bit, as she packed up her stuff and got back on Appa, ready for what lied ahead.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Please leave a review, and if you like the story, don't hesitate to follow andor favorite. Again, I'm sorry for being away for so long.**


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